The more common packages are VisualMill (Mecsoft), SprutCam, BobCam and CamBam. Likewise, they too have a learning curve and typically cost as much or slightly more than CAD programs. More often than not, they let you simulate the motions and preview all actions thus allowing you to minimize crashes. There are others but these are the more common ones that have a reputation and arent' going away anytime soon.ĬAM: CAM programs generate a computer image of the part and machine and provide ways for you to set the tooling types, paths, speeds, ranges of motion etc. Other packages out there are TurboCad, RhinoCad, Solidworks, AutoCad. There are others but, when selecting a CAD program, you need to stick with a company that will be in business for a while as, it takes between 6 months to a year to become proficient with any particular package.
#Cambam save as full
It is full scale, professional stuff and is at the lower end of the mentioned price ranges. I happen to use and like a program called Geomagic/Alibre. CAD programs which have CNC file output capability can be expensive ranging from $1000 to $6000 with maintenance fees running between $300 to $1000 per year. Also, the free share-ware programs have the usual problem of not being supported and often are not very mature and have too many bugs. There are some free share-ware programs but many do not have the feature to export the file for use by a CAM program. Learning a CAD program takes a little time and practice. The software on the mill (often times, people use a program called Mach 3) then controls the mill to make the part. The G-Code is then loaded into the software on the mill. The typical workflow is to first design the part in a CAD program then, use the output of the CAD program as input to a CAM program to generate what is called G-code.