Re: Software Costs

I'd concur with the opinion to spend the money up front on a solid, capable
CAM program. There aren't many under $2500 that are really adept with
surface and solid model data. Of course, for a hobby to work its' way to a
business, it may have to start at something less than optimal, creating
its' own capital along the way.

In my experience, the .dxf format is not used very often for model/part
machining in the commercial world - at least for 3D parts. (4-axis wire EDM
excepted) It is commonly used for 2d print data transfers.
To me, that's why DXF isn't a main feature for a CAM package: much of
what makes a CAM package necessary is 3D work. IGES, and STEP are the most
common formats used for 3d model data transfer, along with .x_t (Parasolid)
and .sat (ACIS)

You generally get what you pay for.

FWIW

Keith Rumley