Enroute vs Aspire

[gary545]

I am trying to decide between Enroute Pro 4 and Aspire, can anyone tell me the differences between the two (other than $4500) or where I might find this info? I am going to be making 3D carved signs and other artsy stuff. Thanks Gary

[fcarpcarp]

Aspire has a very short learning curve, you can pretty much start making stuff without cracking the manual, the on line forum is active and dynamic. Aspire has 4th axis capability.

Enroute interface is a little gnarly and not intuitive, but it is very powerful, learning curve is steeper.

I bought both Enroute Pro and Aspire, used Aspire for the first 6 mo. or so and am finally digging into Enroute, as the automatic toolpathing capability is needed for the cabinet software I've bought.

Not an endorsement either way, if I was just doing carving and signage at a low volume and wanted to get going quickly (as I did), I'd keep my Aspire, for a production tool I'm moving to Enroute, mostly for it's ability to create operation templates.

I like Aspire a lot, it's a fantastic value for the cost.

[cabnet636]

the vectric company provides the full working demo version on thier website. you can make and save files for if you purchase, there are some demo files you can run on your machine to test with the post proccessor, i am a big fan of aspire and have had great success with it. there are some new features coming in the next upgrade which will be of great benefit to cabinetmakers and related design software, definantly woth a strong look!! they have a support forum for end users that now numbers over 4000 members

[Dan Sawatzky]

I've been using EnRoute for 5 years now. When I started I didn't know how to manipulate a vector - I was pretty green with computers and knew absolutely nothing of CNC routers.

I jumped right in to EnRoute doing my best to learn as many things about the program as I possible could. The manual was helpful and I did enjoy a a few hours of one on one instruction from the EnRoute team in a learning session although most of what they spoke of was like listening to a foreign language at the time..

Mostly I learned by doing... just trying everything imaginable.

One of the first projects I did was the entire alphabet as sample pieces for our showroom. I incorporated every trick I could muster, making each sample different. The project made the cover of SignCraft magazine and a feature inside. Since then we have jumped to light speed and beyond.

EnRoute is a powerful program and I have yet to even scratch the surface of what is possible with it. Each day I can hardly wait to try new things. If you want to see what is possible take a peek at the blog I write for EnRoute...
ENROUTE ADVENTURES : MUCH MORE FUN THAN WORKING You will see there are indeed few things not possible.

-grampa dan

[ger21]

Welcome, Dan. I've spent a lot of time looking at your website. You do some really amazing and inspirational work.

[Boltz]

Hey, I've been watching your blog, it completely blows my mind!

Keep up the good work, stop by here again sometime!

-Jim Hart

[Stewey]

Yes, there is a price difference- but also, by all accounts they are both good in their own ways- but there will be a learning curve!