HELP MEE!!

[WEnis]

Hey guys I have a quick question for yall guys! Im a cnc operator at my current job. I've been running cnc machines for the past 2 years now and hav been taking industrial machining classes since 2008. Im 21 years old and I want to get into Cad/Cam but I dont know what software to go with.. I really dont want to spend too much money but my question for yall was which software would be the easiest to use and best for the price..


Thanks,
Wesley K.

[Dan B]

Unfortunately, you will probably find most CAM software expensive. My personal recommendation would be to start with Rhino (Modeling tools for designers) and madCAM (MadCam Start page), and once you have some revenue, maybe move into a parametric software like Solidworks and one of it's gold partner CAM applications. At that point you will need to invest over $10K for sure!!

This is a topic with no clear-cut answer. Others will no doubt have other recommendations. It's like asking "what's the best car?", or "what's the best religion?". What's "best" for some won't be even a consideration for others. However, you did specifically ask "best for the price" so the Rhino/madCAM combo would meet that criteria.

Hope this helps,

Dan

[lovebugjunkie]

For ease of use and price check out any of the vectric products. I tried many demos of software when I first started and Vectric's VcarvePro for me was very ease to understand. Company support is great and the Vectric forums are full of people that are willing to help no matter how basic the question may be.

[CNCdude]

Hi WEnis,
I'm going to take an honest crack at helping you here but I have 3 simple questions:
1. What do you need to do with a CAD/CAM product?
2. What do you want to have in a CAD/CAM product?
3. What is your budget for CNC programming software?
We can all jump in and yell...MasterCAM! or SurfCAM or others at you but you should seriously consider those three questions first. Then we can actually give you the answer you want.
Sincerely,
CNCdude

[daedalus0x1a4]

Ask the shop you work for what classes they'll pay for.

EDIT: Unless it's MasterCAM.