Welcome to the forum! Are you planning to do mostly flat work, 2.5D/3D carvings, plaques with text, etc.? I use Fusion 360 for 95% of my work but that's mostly flat work. For lots of text or any kind of carving I use Carveco. Most here use the Vectric family with VCarve and Aspire being the most popular. Mach4 is controller software that goes on the computer to run your CNC. You won't do any design work on it but that's where you'll run the G-code you generated from your CAD/CAM package.
Starting from the ground floor.
Greetings, I'm glad I found this forum and look forward to interacting with the other folks on here. I'm a craftsman that works with electromagnetic coil machinery, as well as visual artist and tinkerer of old cars. I'm getting closer to pulling the trigger as to which router I'm inclined to go with as a beginner, which is looking like I may go with the Shapeoko 4 pro, and have done a lot of 'homework' as to what works best for my interests as an artist. Starting with 2D but aspire to get to a point of bas-relief and eventually 3D. I am expecting more than a few months of learning curve trial & error with materials, bits, as well as other aspects unforeseen at this moment.
Biggest hurdle - I am having a tough time finding which software seems like what would be suited best for me. That seems to be more of the biggest mystery choice.. The Shapeoko accesses the Carbide Create software & it looks like the Create Pro is 'friendly' for work beyond most engineering projects, however there are a lot of choices of software and regardless of how many reviews and comparisons I see on craftsman youtube videos such as Myers Woodworking, 731, Dennis Hoof, I still have some questions that perhaps I can find answers here or at least personal opinions(I'm sure there can be a lot of those!) based on user experience.
I've looked at comparisons of Carbide Create Pro, Vcurve, Fusion 360, Easel, Mach 4, and still a bit unsure of what might be more suited than others for visual art use; using images from my own drawings, not vector art from online sources or images bundled in software. I need a program(or combination of) that handles CAD, CAM, reads G code and suggests toolpaths. Heck, there's likely other aspects not foreseen at this moment. Please bear with me as I am likely to use improper terminology due to my inexperience.
Are there any fellow artists that have worked with projects from scratch/original drawings? What software did you find to be most user-friendly? Did you find the need for more than one software program in order to transfer your own drawings to a cnc-friendly code?
Thank you in advance for any help!
Biggest hurdle - I am having a tough time finding which software seems like what would be suited best for me. That seems to be more of the biggest mystery choice.. The Shapeoko accesses the Carbide Create software & it looks like the Create Pro is 'friendly' for work beyond most engineering projects, however there are a lot of choices of software and regardless of how many reviews and comparisons I see on craftsman youtube videos such as Myers Woodworking, 731, Dennis Hoof, I still have some questions that perhaps I can find answers here or at least personal opinions(I'm sure there can be a lot of those!) based on user experience.
I've looked at comparisons of Carbide Create Pro, Vcurve, Fusion 360, Easel, Mach 4, and still a bit unsure of what might be more suited than others for visual art use; using images from my own drawings, not vector art from online sources or images bundled in software. I need a program(or combination of) that handles CAD, CAM, reads G code and suggests toolpaths. Heck, there's likely other aspects not foreseen at this moment. Please bear with me as I am likely to use improper terminology due to my inexperience.
Are there any fellow artists that have worked with projects from scratch/original drawings? What software did you find to be most user-friendly? Did you find the need for more than one software program in order to transfer your own drawings to a cnc-friendly code?
Thank you in advance for any help!
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Thank you! Yes, starting with flatwork to get started and familiar with the device & materials, and hopefully work up to carving in bas-relief in short sequence after grasping the basics. Eventually to full 3D work but I know that's not on the horizon yet. Vcarve looks like a interesting program and may be inclined towards it, and wanted to get feedback from other people here using software for similar projects. I haven't looked into Carveco only because I haven't yet heard of it. Researching that will be a good distraction during slow points in the workday today, thanks for the suggestion!Welcome to the forum! Are you planning to do mostly flat work, 2.5D/3D carvings, plaques with text, etc.? I use Fusion 360 for 95% of my work but that's mostly flat work. For lots of text or any kind of carving I use Carveco. Most here use the Vectric family with VCarve and Aspire being the most popular. Mach4 is controller software that goes on the computer to run your CNC. You won't do any design work on it but that's where you'll run the G-code you generated from your CAD/CAM package.
edit* - Aspire looks quite appealing, thank you for that suggestion as well
For real freedom you might also look at 3d art modeling software.
You are not limited to just one software package. Mix and match to your needs. I've been making and selling bas relief cnc patterns going on a decade now. Completely addicting. Just got my first 3d printer and been having a blast with it as well.
On my computer, I keep Fusion 360 (hobby), VCarve Pro, Carvewright Designer on the CAD side. I also keep Blender 3d, Zbrush, 3dCoat on the 3d art modeling side and finally CorelDraw for the vector graphics side.
Regardless, welcome to the addiction and you are going to have a blast. It's an awesome ride.
![Wood Art Motor vehicle Vehicle Wheel]()
You are not limited to just one software package. Mix and match to your needs. I've been making and selling bas relief cnc patterns going on a decade now. Completely addicting. Just got my first 3d printer and been having a blast with it as well.
On my computer, I keep Fusion 360 (hobby), VCarve Pro, Carvewright Designer on the CAD side. I also keep Blender 3d, Zbrush, 3dCoat on the 3d art modeling side and finally CorelDraw for the vector graphics side.
Regardless, welcome to the addiction and you are going to have a blast. It's an awesome ride.
Just noticed this post. Welcome. I'm not a CNC guy, but taught marketing and management for almost 40 years. So when I looked into CNC, I naturally thought about making it pay. What emerged is in the attached pdf on how i'd go about making it pay. Enjoy and hope it is useful to you.
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G'day , welcome to the forum @Mk II Colorado
Any specific questions or tips, please post them in the CNC section of the forum.
Not everyone reads the introductions, and stick to the sections of their expertise.
Any specific questions or tips, please post them in the CNC section of the forum.
Not everyone reads the introductions, and stick to the sections of their expertise.
Hah, I'm sure this will be another time consuming addictive fun hobby that leads to more serious work within a few years. I just need an 8th or 9th day week so that I can balance it between work, making art, tinkering/maintaining on an old car or two, etc. The recommendations of the 3D art modeling are extremely helpful, some of them are much more complex than where I am at with digital art but they led to a few other programs in the comments of the ZBrush community. Rhino looks like it's worth a few minutes of my time to look into/watch tutorials as far as 3D modeling/rendering, and works well with Aspire. The wormhole of software continues hah. I may message you with a question or two along the way of software combinations if that's ok.For real freedom you might also look at 3d art modeling software.
You are not limited to just one software package. Mix and match to your needs. I've been making and selling bas relief cnc patterns going on a decade now. Completely addicting. Just got my first 3d printer and been having a blast with it as well.
On my computer, I keep Fusion 360 (hobby), VCarve Pro, Carvewright Designer on the CAD side. I also keep Blender 3d, Zbrush, 3dCoat on the 3d art modeling side and finally CorelDraw for the vector graphics side.
Regardless, welcome to the addiction and you are going to have a blast. It's an awesome ride.
View attachment 404797
Love the relief you made there by the way!
Sounds good, I'll keep any other comments or questions in the CNC area of the forum. Thank you.G'day , welcome to the forum @Mk II Colorado
Any specific questions or tips, please post them in the CNC section of the forum.
Not everyone reads the introductions, and stick to the sections of their expertise.
Welcome to the forum @Mk II Colorado
You correct folks on their spelling too eh? Cut the guy some slack and let him at least say hello on his first post. At the very least do your critique by private message. I pushed back here in public so you would understand how it feels!G'day , welcome to the forum @Mk II Colorado
Any specific questions or tips, please post them in the CNC section of the forum.
Not everyone reads the introductions, and stick to the sections of their expertise.
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