Welcome to the forum N/a. Please add your name to your bio. We are a very friendly group here. I am in Florida also. I am sure someone can help you will find your CNC answers here. Have a great day. Roxanne
Thanks, glad to be here! I checked out some videos on Fusion 360 and it does look like a easy software for what I intend to do and learned some more in about cnc in the process. Now what I want to know is, are either Bobcnc E4 or the SainSmart 3018 good for the tags I'm trying to make or is there better option for a small format cnc machine with parts readily available in the US? Thanks for the help!Welcome to the forum, Gary! You'll find there's a lot of support for the Vectric line of products here and for good reason - good software. You can download their products for free and try them but you can't generate the G-code to actually cut something. I personally use Fusion 360 (free for hobbyists) and recently bought Carveco for doing 3D work (but have had no time to learn how to use it).
David
MEBCWD, are there any suggestions on machines that are reliable you could recommend? I'm willing to spend up to 2k for something reliable with parts readily available as I plan to use this in my workshop for business. I know the tags don't require much but who knows, I might get into other things later down the road.Welcome to the Router Forums Gary.
I would stay away from belt-driven CNC machines like the Bobcnc E4, just my personal opinion.
The SainSmart 3018 would be a better value, again, my personal opinion. One thing to remember about these small entry model CNC machines is they are very limited in the bits you can use, and speeds they will cut. They are as I said very limiting but one would probably be fine for the dog tags you want to make.
I really don't recommend these small entry model units but I do know these are within the limited budget of some users. There are several free programs for design and gcode output and most are basic but will do what you want to do. Fusion 360 is free for hobby use but will have a large learning curve and would be way more than you need to make dog tags. The problem with most of these free basic programs is the user base is small so it is hard to find help.