I would like a opinion on setting up a complete small CNC system.

Hi all,

This is my first post here. I've read MOST of the archived posts and
wanted to solicit some specific opinions from those who have been
doing small home/hobby CNC work for a while.

Here's the scoop. I am just starting to put together a setup and
don't have a lot of knowlege or any experience w/ milling or CNC.
But, I do have a design in my head and want to go in to "limited
(<100 pcs)" production to test it's market appeal. The parts I've
imagined are no bigger than 2"hx2"wx4"l. I've, pretty much, decided
to go with a Sherline CNC setup. I'm familiar with the mods that
have been discussed on the list. I want a turnkey CNC package to fit
on the Sherline that is known to work. I will need a CAD and CAM
package. I have AutoCAD 14 already and have an oppourtunity to buy
Mechanical Desktop and/or Inventor 3 for a very reasonable price. I
have, almost, no experience with any CAD software.

So the questions are...
1. What CNC package to go with. (I'm not really all that impressed
by the FlashCut system because of its closed architecture)
2. Does anyone have experience w/ Mech. Desktop or Inventor 3? If
so, what do you think?
3. I've been looking at CNCpro and like it's approach. Is this a
good choice, and if so, what converter do I need to move the design
from the AutoDesk software to CNCpro. Will I have problems in 2D to
3D translation.

I thank you for your thoughtful opinions and time.