I know what you mean. Been it it for 25 years myself and keep coming back.
There was a recent rash of what was obviously other companies coming into this forum to cut the software and to eventually advertise their own. It has turned many users away from this forum and the last person made threats to myself and others who tried to help. Only after a short while it was obvious they were lying and had never had Bobcad nor were they any type of machinist.
So what type of machining do you wish to attempt? Maybe Alibre could be something for you but the cost of the expert version that includes the limited machining may be more than you wish to pay. However for the cost it is still good.
Alibre has an Xpress version that is free (slightly limited though very functional) and once registered you can also export STP formats. Bobcad can open the STP files for machining. So for what I consider a very good deal is a free program to design and Bobcad for a nice CAM program.
Don't be fooled. For the cost it is very functional but requires getting it set the way you like. The full version of Bobcad is more than just a hobbiest program. We have machined many dies and molds using it with very good luck.
As for Alibre----it can be a very nice parametric program that does 99% of our design work. They have a forum here as well. Here is one design I did.
