I'm working with "onshape", from the initial developers of solidworks. Works fine and free
You can. Upload them to your binder and they will run fine. Maybe the layers were turned off when you exported the DXF. OR it's white ink on white paper.
But since you want top shelf you can go with a nice seat of NX or CATIA with their CNC plugins. Only about $35,000 start up cost. For sub $1000 like your previous post... Fusion is it. It's ALL moving to subscription. Solidworks still have a perm license which you can get for $5000 and another $5000-$15,000 CNC plug in depending who makes it.
I'm working with "onshape", from the initial developers of solidworks. Works fine and free
Looks great, but then again you are still stuck with the problem of trusting your design files to a 3rd party, and can only access the program when online.
So if it's free, why require me to save all my files on their servers? I hate the concept. Put it out on mass with an entry level hobby user price point of $150 that allows me to download and install it, use it when I'm offline, and save my own files on my own computer, and it would be a winner! I'd rather that then free. Sure they can keep the collaboration utility of it if that's what people want to do, straight away I can see how it would be handy, even on a forum like this for us to collaborate on CNC designs.
They'll get hacked at some point and all the proprietary design files of the businesses that actually pay to use it will be stolen. I have no doubt about that. You couldn't use something like this for defense or any other kind of confidential work.
Hi Nic, don't know what you manufacture but if it's nothing for military, high tech or automotive stuff, I don't have a problem with putting it on the mass.
And here in Belgium (Europe) we have 99% of the time online service. Yes, it's nice to have a good 3D program installed on your laptop but I don't find any good ones for free.
I use to design in NX, solid works and solid edge, but they are all to expensive for the business I work in
greets, Tony