Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] CAM software recommendations for vocational school

kidderkeith wrote:

>
> Greetings all,
>
> The local vocational school has recently purchased a CNC router but
> the deal did not include software. Currently they are running Turbo
> CNC for control. They may upgrade to Mach 2 if they can get a
> better PC.
>
> They are currently looking for recommendations for CAM software - as
> in something that can convert their CAD drawings to G-code. Since
> this system will be used by students, ease of use is a high
> priority. Cost would have to be kept well under $1000.
>
> Best regards,
> Keith Kidder

Hi Keith:

For a 'NO COST' (but time) solution for CAD & CAM, have a look at the
free open source software SagCAD (still in its infancy but seems to
be quite functional). Although initially for Linux, I understand there
are Windoze versions extant (I don't know where, but google refers to some).

http://sourceforge.net/projects/sagcad/ English sourcecode download
http://sagcad.sourceforge.jp/ Japanese home page
http://www.cnckits.com/SagCAD Manual (mostly translated to English)

Being students, it will bring them a MUCH better understanding to
dive in and understand the code (and maybe contribute?), rather than
just run a blackbox program.

Perhaps (being a vocational school), your priority is to get them productive
(rather than achieve a deep understanding), in which case I suggest bringing
this open source software to your 'computer science/programming' instructors,
and perhaps in collaboration with them you can augment the software with the
features you need.

cheers
Doug Fortune

http://www.cncKITS.com home of the 1KW BEaST power supply kit

























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