beginner needs Help with software choice

"snokket <graham@...>"
<graham@...>
Subject: beginner needs Help with software choice

Hello everyone.
Can someone give me some advice please. I am in the process of
setting up a mill and will be using flashcut to run it. I am unsure
regarding which cam software to use to give me the best results. I
want to be able to engrave, and carve wood, cut parts for small
furniture and also ( hopefully, if I can get my head around it )use
the machine with a fourth rotary axis to make carved and turned legs
etc. I have no experience of the different packages so any help and
advice you can give me will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance.
Graham.

Hi Graham;

[You should consider VisualMill 4.0. It can import files from most CAD
systems, including Rhino, Alibre, and Innovate, three attractively-priced
programs that its maker, Mecsoft, has bundled it with. VisualMill 4 deals
with both linear plots and surfaced models, and offers a variety of ways to
put toolpaths to surfaces. The full 4.0 version can write toolpaths for a
4th rotary axis, a function most other CAM companies try to sell as a
separate module. It's still $950.00 (my price) until the end of this month,
at which point the price goes up. To get you used to how it works, and make
you want to upgrade to their full product once you start wanting more
features, they also offer a fully functional version for free. VisualMill
Free will import STL files and write G-code toolpath programs which direct a
3-axis milling machine's actions in carving your model. You can download it
from www.mecsoft.com today, and start making things as soon as your mill's
set up. If you've started with it yet, how smoothly has the Flashcut setup
process gone so far? Is it hard to get support from them in the UK?]

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com