Cam Software for Mach3?

[eliteaquatics]

I just got done building my first 4x8 cnc router. I am looking at buying Mach3 but I am unsure which cam software to purchase, there is so many different options lol. I do not have much experience designing in cam software so this is all new to me. I will be using this machine to cut full 4x8 sheets of cell cast acrylic. I will mostly be using this router to machine parts for my aquarium filtration business. Is Lazycam thats included with Mach3 enough for what I am doing? I will post some pictures of some of my products I have been making by hand.

[ger21]

You'll need a CAD program to draw your parts for your CAM program. You may find that LazyCAM will do what you need. But it's hard to recommend, as it was never finished, and is basically a dead end product. The upside is it's free. But if you need to pay for the Pro version, I'd look elsewhere.

Popular options are Cut2D, SheetCAM, and CamBam.

[Peter H]

Many choices and it can cost quite a bit. The router with Mach3 gives you the tail end of the process, CAM gives you the middle, leaving the beginning piece, CAD. One way try stuff for free is to download DraftSight (search for it and you will find links to download), a powerful, free 2-D cad system which might work well for your products, and MechSoft has a free CAM program that accepts dwg files. The CAM program is bare bones, but it would let you try things out before committing $.

[79TigerPilot]

I would give CamBam a try, I found it fairly easy to use. You can get some discount if you buy both Mach3 and CamBam together.

CamBam does have some level of CAD drawing built in and you can do an entire part without a separate CAD program. I have only used the built in CAD for a couple of simple things since I have AutoCad Lt that I have been using for years. I draw the parts in AutoCad then export the dxf to CamBam and make the G-code for Mach. You don't need tool tables, templates or styles but they are there when you get more advanced.

Craig

Originally Posted by eliteaquatics I just got done building my first 4x8 cnc router. I am looking at buying Mach3 but I am unsure which cam software to purchase, there is so many different options lol. I do not have much experience designing in cam software so this is all new to me. I will be using this machine to cut full 4x8 sheets of cell cast acrylic. I will mostly be using this router to machine parts for my aquarium filtration business. Is Lazycam thats included with Mach3 enough for what I am doing? I will post some pictures of some of my products I have been making by hand.

[eliteaquatics]

Thanks for the response guys. I have heard good things about Cambam and was actually thinking of buying Mach and Cambam together, just wasn't sure if that was the way to go or not. So I will be able to design and cut my parts from just Cambam and Mach3 alone? That would be great.

[79TigerPilot]

Yes, parts can be drawn within CamBam. It's not going to be as good or have all the features of a full stand alone CAD program but should work for ya.

Craig

Originally Posted by eliteaquatics Thanks for the response guys. I have heard good things about Cambam and was actually thinking of buying Mach and Cambam together, just wasn't sure if that was the way to go or not. So I will be able to design and cut my parts from just Cambam and Mach3 alone? That would be great.

[CNC Lurker]

Considering that Cambam Plus and Cut 2D both cost $150, for ease of use I would lean towards Cut 2D. Mach 3 is $175 on the Artsoft website, so you only save $10 if you bundle Cambam Plus and Mach 3 (which is not much of a discount).

Watch the tutorial videos and download the PDF tutorials and you will see it's not that hard to use: Getting Started with Cut2D

You can use the free Draftsight program to make the 2D DXFs for your CAM program of choice.

One benefit that Cambam has is that it can import a 3D STL file. If you are using a 3D program then that could be a plus.

Mach 3, Cut 2D, and Cambam all have demo versions. Mach 3 without a license is limited to about 500 lines, Cambam gives you 40 fully functional sessions, and Cut 2D will let you cut sample files. Make some g-code then run Mach 3, you don't even need to have a CNC machine to test it out. I have my preference, but the best thing to do would be to give all of these a test run and see which is best for you.

[FannBlade]

Originally Posted by eliteaquatics I just got done building my first 4x8 cnc router. I am looking at buying Mach3 but I am unsure which cam software to purchase, there is so many different options lol. I do not have much experience designing in cam software so this is all new to me. I will be using this machine to cut full 4x8 sheets of cell cast acrylic. I will mostly be using this router to machine parts for my aquarium filtration business. Is Lazycam thats included with Mach3 enough for what I am doing? I will post some pictures of some of my products I have been making by hand.

Thanks for the question, exact situation I'm in.

Originally Posted by CNC Lurker Considering that Cambam Plus and Cut 2D both cost $150, for ease of use I would lean towards Cut 2D. Mach 3 is $175 on the Artsoft website, so you only save $10 if you bundle Cambam Plus and Mach 3 (which is not much of a discount). Watch the tutorial videos and download the PDF tutorials and you will see it's not that hard to use: Getting Started with Cut2D You can use the free Draftsight program to make the 2D DXFs for your CAM program of choice. One benefit that Cambam has is that it can import a 3D STL file. If you are using a 3D program then that could be a plus. Mach 3, Cut 2D, and Cambam all have demo versions. Mach 3 without a license is limited to about 500 lines, Cambam gives you 40 fully functional sessions, and Cut 2D will let you cut sample files. Make some g-code then run Mach 3, you don't even need to have a CNC machine to test it out. I have my preference, but the best thing to do would be to give all of these a test run and see which is best for you.

Thanks for the answers. Tried CanBam downloading Cut2d now.