03-14-2012, 12:38 PM
(03-14-2012, 09:33 AM)arvidj Wrote: How well will either Draftsight or Solid Edge 2D fit with the desire to eventually use it what a CNC mill?
And is there anything out there that is reasonably prices [that would be a few hundred dollars] that would allow me to do 3D modeling? The desire is to have a 3D model of the mill and be able to create the components necessary to mount the CNC items on it virtually to explore possibilities before committing it to a metal reality.
Maybe my desire to have a virtual reality could be met by Googles SketchUp but I would prefer something that would be better suited to creating a measured drawing of the specific CNC mounting item so I could then create it manually on the mill.
Solid Edge 2D is strictly a 2D CAD package so will be of no benefit to CNC. As Tony said, you need CAM software that converts the 3D model to code the CNC driver understands. TurboCAD does offer a plug-in for their TurboCAD Pro package but that is going to cost a lot more than $200. I have the latest version of TurboCAD Pro but have only played around with it a bit. I want to learn the 3D aspect of it but have not been able to commit enough time to sit down and learn it.
Here are a couple of 3D CAD programs that are less than $200 but they still don't address your CAM needs. Just make sure whatever 3D CAD program you get will export in a format that your CAM software will accept.
http://www.turbocad.com/TurboCAD/TurboCA...fault.aspx
http://www.imsidesign.com/Products/Desig...fault.aspx
I tried Google SketchUp shortly after it first came out and hated it. Way too clumsy to use for my liking. It's at version 8 now so I assume it's gotten better. Besides, I really need to learn TurboCAD since I paid for the software.
Ed