@jamesdhatch If we use Inkscape and Sheetcam or fusion for the gcode, will it do anything to my tech support with my crossfire? And why does anyone who is using a plasma want fusion then at all because you only cut flat pieces?
Nope - no issues with Tech Support. Many of us use alternatives to Fusion (I use it only for doing 3D design - even when designing the part I still do the toolpathing in Sheetcam).
The original Crossfire came out with the suggestion to use Fusion 360 and it was free for anyone as long as they made less than $100,000/year. Late last year they changed their licensing so it’s not quite the great deal it was. It did (does) provide the ability to do some complex 3D work. It also has some neat add-in functions - I use the sheetmetal function in Fusion because I do boxes, etc. that I’m going to bend later on a press brake. Fusion will draw it in 3D and then “unfold” it so I can do a 2D cut.
Most of the folks who struggled with Fusion ended up going with an alternate like Inkscape. I use that occasionally as I use it when teaching laser cutting classes. I also use CorelDraw ($) and some folks use applications like Adobe Illustrator ($) or Affinity Designer ($ - but not much). You just need to be able to save as an SVG file.
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@jamesdhatch ahhh…I think i’m understanding a bit more…thank you James! I think I can download inkscape now on this computer to play around with it. my husband is going full blown metal shop and I know he has a brake too…mig welder etc…so he may want more out of this than our craft stuff…but we can always add that later. for example, would we be able to download from fireshare on this site the alphabet letters and add last names using inkscape or the tree of life for example?
Yes. Inkscape can read (& write) DXF files too which is how most of the stuff up in Fireshare is stored. Inkscape is free & tons of YouTube videos out there to learn from. Folks here on the forum can help you too.
You can also find tons of SVG and DXF files out there online as well. Also, check out plasmaspider.com - a $20 donation each year gets you access to their free files that people upload.
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Plasmaspider are good folks, been there a while. The $20 a year is worth it just for the dxf files.
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Oh just thought to add this, checkout uscutter dot com. It is where I get all my vinyl supplies they have a lot of svg and dxf files, good folks also
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Tl;dr: Inkscape, good desktop, cheap laptop, master the software and machine, don’t do crack, fear is the mind killer, don’t give up, you’ll get there.
@Andy-Lisa download inkscape and start going through tutorials for drawing the simple 2D signs so you understand the process of using a vector design program. You may even be able to use inkscape indefinitely for 2D. I eventually moved up to CorelDraw because I do print production as well as wood CNC and laser cutting, and I got in with a software company that makes ready made vector art and easy templates specifically for promotional product use like t-shirts, signs, and sports/school customers. (Digital Art Solutions if you’re curious.)
I’ve played around with Fusion 360 (btw not an Adobe product, it’s made by Autodesk, iirc) for years and made a few things for 3D printing and wood CNC, but I’ve never been able to master it like I did with CorelDraw (that is definitely not saying Corel is easy to learn, but it is easier if you’ve gotten the basics down in inkscape).
From my experience in the printwear and promo products industry, it is highly likely that a startup business will get frustrated and give up after spending tens of thousands of dollars on equipment if they don’t take the time to learn the design software. (This is how I buy all of my equipment very cheaply.) Many of them will fall back on using stock designs to stay in business instead of learning to design, and then they sell the same thing everyone else does, and start chasing each other to the bottom of the profit margin when bidding jobs. (See just about any screen printer in your local area for an example.)
I’m not recommending that you buy CorelDraw right away, but since you mentioned hand drawn designs, Corel does have some of the best tracing features available. (Search YouTube for CorelDraw power trace and the new features that became available in CorelDraw 2018.) Corel has gone to a subscription type platform, which makes me crazy, but I’m too far invested in it to leave now.
0Did I mention Corel is not super easy to learn? It’s all written in Canadian 
. (Kidding aside, there’s a reason there are degree programs for graphic and CAD design, don’t expect mastery overnight.)
And (I’m a woman) I find that men take to 3D CAD more easily and women take to vector design more easily. (Not being sexist, our brains are wired differently. By day, I’m a biologist and professional scientist.)
Oh, and no cracked software, ever. It’s not worth it in so many ways. (I have cracked software just to see if I could, and I’ve hacked into cracks, and found more malware and just plain mean stuff hidden inside than you can imagine.) More companies and governments are willing to prosecute now too, just about every pro software group I’m in has ads for rewards for turning businesses in that are using illegal software. Seems like a great way to eliminate competition.
As far as computers go:
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I find that a gaming or professional business desktop work best for the design programs. They are the easiest and most cost effective to upgrade as well. You want at least a quad core CPU with the most RAM and a good video card with onboard RAM that you can afford. My 12 year old Lenovo business desktop (bought refurb from Woot!) with a quad core CPU, 12GB of RAM, and upgraded video card were absolutely fine for Fusion 360 and all the design software I could throw at it. I only just built a new gaming PC because I’ve starting doing video editing, which is core intensive.
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In the shop, I use an 8 year old Lenovo i7 laptop for my lasers, wood CNC, and eventually the plasma; because wood and metal dust, temperature changes, and electricity fluctuations (from running all those machines and Texas thunderstorms) could make for an unhappy desktop, laptops are cheaper to replace and move to all my machines easily. Newer laptops are nearly impossible to upgrade RAM and video cards in.
If you’re really new to all of this, you will also get discouraged by the length of time it takes to dial in and understand your machine (materials, speeds, capabilities, etc.). Don’t expect to cut a filagree in thick material on your first day (or maybe ever), keep your initial designs simple so that you can have the least amount of variables possible when dialing everything in. Find a simple file that you can use to test and tune with for each material and whenever you need to troubleshoot something. Since metal ain’t cheap, maybe a keychain or bottle opener that you can sell. Keep notes! Don’t give up, and be flexible enough to walk away for a few days if you can’t get help immediately.
Welcome to the maelstrom, you’re going to be fine.
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@Andy-Lisa if you’re ever out west Texas way, I’d be happy to spend a weekend with you in my mad scientist laboratory showing you different processes and answering any questions I can. You must be willing to eat lots of meat and drink beer though. Or at least watch me drink the beer, the meat is not negotiable.
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Ha ha ha…your a hoot! Love it all…even the meat…steak and potatoes any day for me. I have tons of designs in my head now…I will practice on stock ones and then make my own. I already downloaded Inkscape and followed a 3part tutorial and did it! I am a jewelry designer now…and I did Pysanky with the eggs, so I am very artsy and will love this. I love craft shows because I can talk to people about what we do. I just know my husband and I will have a blast just building out our metal and craft shop. We are even going to look for a powder coating cabinet. Its our retirement fun. And now that we moved to Arkansas, we want to see Texas one of these days. I would never use software without a license…I was in IT for 25 years, but on the Telecom side. I will go back over all your wonderful advice above and make laptop spec notes! I really appreciate your time! Talk to you soon, Lisa
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Well, I guess everyone has seen actual specs now, XP is not supported. So I now need to buy a new computer just for it.
Langmuir folks, you need to update webpage faq part to show different computer specs for different sysyems. I initially did this XP machine to play with Mach3…so lets go computer shopping…
From new listing:
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
- Operating System: Windows 7+ 64 BIT / MacOS 10.13+
- Minimum Processor Speed: 1.6 Ghz
- Minimum RAM: 4 GB
- Available Disk Space: 150 MB
- Ports: One USB 2.0 (Standard Type A)
ETA updated windows specs to reflect what is needed now 64 Bit 2/27/20
@Andy-Lisa needs to be 64 bit also
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XP and Windows 7 are both past end-of-life. In computer circles we call them trojan-magnets. No responsible company would claim support for their product on either of them anymore considering the liability someone might claim since the systems are unsecurable now.
Technically when used offline they work great “wink”
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Correct but no one can use them “offline” if you do any file transfers.
A latent virus or Trojan that does not affect say Windows 10, can be injected as a payload in files being transferred via USB or some other offline device that would then activate when opened in a Win XP or 7 device. The only way to avoid unsecured use is to only create files on those machines and never use them on other devices. Kind of hard to support a real workflow for Crossfire use that way 
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Makes sense, i didn’t realize sleeping xp trojans could be pased that way, I guess that is why Im a machinist lol
It’s a clever way for them to pass the virus around - because it doesn’t attack a Win10 direct pathway (although there is shared code with XP/W7) the AV scanners won’t necessarily see it. Then it installs when it’s on a XP/W7 system and installs a W10 variant that might be considered safe by your W10 machine when the USB gets attached with the new updated file. Tricky little sh*ts out there doing this stuff. (My 2nd son is a cybersecurity geek.)
Just to add to this discussion…I got beat up some on the XP thing, which I understand
Now, LA said they hadn’t tried it on XP…well… I did last night!!!
And it didn’t even come close to loading : “failed due to processor type” I am sure it was because of XP
I tried it on both my XP machines and they have different processors
So if anyone waits until table is assembled you will be upset…UPGRADE to 2020 times 
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I tried Firecontol on 3 win 7 computers and all failed to load.
I did get it to load on win 10.
What error did it give you on W7?
I had an XP machine built with fast processor and lots of memory etc for the garage loaded with Mach3 ran it great…then I found out a month later that the Pro wasn’t using Mach3
And now It looks like W7 won’t work???
Anyone else have this issue?
@Bobbya We’ve had FireControl running on Windows 7 machines without issue. Do you know if your computers were 32 bit or 64 bit processors? The FireControl installer for Windows is a 64 bit program.
It’s possible that we can generate a 32 bit installer for FireControl if needed.
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