Re: CNC Software help needed

Marv Frankel <dcdziner@...>
Subject: Re: Re: CNC Software help needed

Richard,
I'm at about the same stage as Francisco, although I'm fairly adept
at using AutoCad. If I create a piece, I assume that the file is exported in
some format, to the CAM software. Are any of these more compatible with
AutoCad output, and are there any that have trial downloads?

Marv Frankel
Los Angeles

[AutoCad's output has been adopted as a standard for CAD files. DXF
(AutoCad's Design eXchange Format) comes in a variety of flavors, and can be
a 2d drawing or a "3d faces" surface representation. If you're generating
the former, and want to use the 2d drawing to produce pockets, drill holes,
etc. then look at TurboCadCam www.turbocadcam.com (working demo
available).While it has its own 2d drawing tools, it is able to open
drawings made in other programs and saved as DXF polylines, and use them as
the basis for its machining operations. (This is a brand-new program, and
still has some minor glitches in its G-code generation. A patch is supposed
to be available on their site by Monday to fix these issues.) If you have
surfaces you want to reproduce, saved as DXF meshes, then you might consider
DeskProto or VisualMill. DeskProto has a working demo good for 30 days at
www.deskproto.com. I offer discount pricing on all these programs (and
more). ]

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com