[gerryv]

Hi, Obviously a pre-neubie question about CNC software. I'm pretty sure, in general terms, that CAD is for drawing things in 2D/3D, often for the purpose of facilitating the machining of physical models/prototypes or production parts by having the CAD program be able to talk to a CAM program which can talk to the machine tool(s) involved.

My confusion lies more in whether CAM and controller software are the same thing or separate entities. E.g. If I was to use Mach 3 (a controller program) would I also need a CAM program somewhere in the mix or are Mach 3 and a CAD program all that's needed to start out (besides hardware, being my next question I imagine). My needs are actually very basic with a strong bias towards user-friendly if that makes a difference and they're not expected to go too much beyond that.

Thanks kindly,
Gerry