So I was wondering who uses Inkscape for the art things, freecad for more detail project on the cad side of things and sheetcam for the cam side of things. I know that fusion 360 does it all but it is limited in the free version? Thanks again for everyone that post their options.
Kimball Niehaus.
I only use Fusion. I have several of the others loaded on my computers but never opened them up.
$500 per year is an excellent price for Fusion. They have sales all the time and can get a super deal.
Even at 70 dollars or so, every month is worth it to me.
Two plasma jobs, and it’s paid for.
I have never had a job that Fusion could not handle.
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I use Inkscape, FreeCAD and Sheetcam.
The only reason I use FreeCAD, is it’s what I learned to use for 3d printing. Fusion is a superior program, but FreeCAD is pretty good.
FreeCAD has it’s issues with 3d design, but some of them have been fixed in the new development version. They seem to have fixed the “topological naming issue”, but other issues can still break a model if you go back and change certain things.
For 2d design, it works great.
For the non FreeCAD users, the “topological naming issue” was caused by mapping sketches to faces. If you go back and make a change that creates a new face, all of the face numbers(names) change. This means the sketch you had mapped to one face is now attached to another face.
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I use the hobby/personal/free version of Fusion 360 and when you say it is “limited” it still runs rings around other design programs. But, it is quite large in its scope so that may not be of value to you. I use Fusion 360 for both CAD/CAM and I am pretty satisfied with the choice.
Now I am doing lots of 3D modeling for my 3D printer. You may not think you need 3D but Fusion 360 has a great Sheet Metal section that allows designing in 3D and then flattens the panel out so you can cut it out on your plasma table.
As far as art…I am devoid of art in my repertoire. I am not very artsy and if you have an inkling that direction, then Inkscape is probably a program that you will want to become familiar.
SheetCAM is currently the king of CAM but Fusion 360 has moved leagues past where it was 2 years ago so I suspect it will catch SheetCAM in the future. But right now, SheetCAM is not a bad choice and lots of folks can help you learn it.
Another free CAD program that I really liked was SolidEdge. It seemed intuitive for me.
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I use inkscape for the art and decorative stuff, and use Qcad for drawing parts. I really like qcad, it’s great for 2d drawing and easy to learn. Sheetcam for CAM. I’ve tried fusion, but decided it wasn’t worth it for me, in time to learn or financially.
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@BCBOY
I have full AutoCAD experiance…
BUT
I prefer using Inkscpace for 95% of all my design work.
Most of what I do is signage and small non technical stuff…for technical precise stuff I will use AutoCAD.
I LOVE sheetcam…it is so easy…so fast…point out errors…has great features…one time purchase…and the developer Les is often here on the forum…and they have their own forum…
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Thanks everyone! I going to purchase sheetcam for sure and Inkscape for now.
if you need help do not be afraid to ask the forum or one of us…
You bet thanks again.
A word of advice, try something REALLY simple to start with until you understand the whole process. Otherwise you’ll get lost in the minutia and won’t learn what’s important.
Draw a square with a hole in the middle. Save that, process it in SheetCam, load it into FireControl, do a dry run, and then cut some scrap. You’ll learn a lot of important things, just doing that.
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I agree with @TomWS …he is wise beyond his whiskey’s age…
also one program I suggest everyone to run tillthey get comfortable with thier cut settings in the “f-Bomb” bottle opener…
it is available on Fireshare (tab above)…
https://www.langmuirsystems.com/fireshare/f-bomb-cleaned-up
this file has just about every thing you need to learn cuts…inside cuts…outside cuts…straight…curves…and all in a small enough piece not to waste material…
and even the screwed up parts are great to give to your “friends”
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yes there are limitations and they are taking away more features all the time. (in the free version)
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