AutoCad or Aspire...?

[MychesterCNC]

Is anyone very familiar with both programs? I now have Aspire V.3 (full version, I paid for it) as well as AutoCad 2011. I'm not sure if it was overkill to buy both, but I have them now, and am just learning to use either and to learn CNC machining with a desktop unit.

Does anyone have a strong opinion on which I should concentrate my efforts on learning? Does one do all that the other does and more, or is one more of an industry standard than the other? Or are there strong advantages of one over the other? I dont have any actual jobs in mind, but I want to be able to make parts (hobby type things) with a desktop unit in both 2 and 3D at some point. Is one much easier to learn than the other...?

Any pointers or opinions from someone who is very familiar with both would be appreciated!

Thanks!

[jhowelb]

From my experience, Autocad is a high end drafting cad package the is the source of more frustration than product. It requires a LOT of study and commitment to work with it.

Aspire, while presenting challenges, will draw most everything one might need and trace bitmaps and modify existing dxf's.

It will also provide you with the gcode to produce your carvings, patterns and 2.5d figures.

My vote goes to Aspire, and I also have both!

[Pplug]

I've used both and I can definitely recommend Aspire. It should do almost everything that your router would need it to. The only limitation for aspire would be printing your plans out with all the title blocks and extra crap that autocad is known for.