Noob software question...

[WilliamD]

I have autocad 2000, and am able to draw my woodworking stuff in 2D and my 3D needs. I have mach3 to run the controller and CNC. Do I need anything else? Should I be able to just export the DXF file from Autocad to mach3 and it translates it? Is there anything I'm missing? I'm sure I can do that, but is there a better way? Thanks for any advice!

[drawbar]

Take a look at www.deskam.com. I have had good success with this program. You can open up dxf's and generate good roughing and finishing passes. Plus the CAM output is customizable. It has a free trial period.

Brian

[ger21]

Originally Posted by WilliamD I have autocad 2000, and am able to draw my woodworking stuff in 2D and my 3D needs. I have mach3 to run the controller and CNC. Do I need anything else? Should I be able to just export the DXF file from Autocad to mach3 and it translates it? Is there anything I'm missing? I'm sure I can do that, but is there a better way? Thanks for any advice!

Mach3 can read 2D .dxf's, but is limited in what you can do. It may be perfectly fine for your needs. A great low cost option would be Sheetcam. www.sheetcam.com If you want to do 3D carving, check out MeshCAM. www.meshcam.com

I don't think it will work in ACAD 2000, but I wrote a macro that exports g-code from within AutoCAD and does a lot more than Mach3 will. It works in 2002 and newer, but it may work in 2000. You can try it and see. http://home.comcast.net/~cncwoodwork.../AC2GCv039.zip