Newbie looking for 2-D pattern cutter software.

[amccoy]

My first attempt at building a CNC machine is a small (12" x 12") pattern cutter for my wife's scrap booking hobby. I am look for an easy to use control software for this machine. She wants to be able to cut many types of fonts and be able to convert image files into g-code. Any suggestions?

[geoff p]

For fonts I would suggest DeskEngrave, by www.DesKAM.com, it outputs g-code directly.
For machine control, I have tried several and have settled on Mach2 software by ArtSoft CNC Software Company because of its support - both by the company and by user-groups - and the flexibility in setting-up. Mach2 allows for rotating the cutter-head for pattern cutting with a knife - don't ask me just how!

[chrbau]

Kcam, Image-2-Gcode or CNCwizard