Hi everybody I was wondering if Estlcam is the only or viable engraving software to use? Is there a cheaper or free alternative? While I figure things out without having to pay the $59 for it at this time.
Last I checked, EstlCam will let you use it for free for a while.
I used it quite some time before deciding I would pay for it.
I’m sure there’s other software out there, but EstlCam is pretty simple to use.
Yes, ESTLcam will run free for a while (not sure how long). It just progressively makes you wait longer and longer on some functions like exporting the gcode until you buy.
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Fusion 360 will do CAM and is free for hobby use.
And then CNCjs (there are others) will let you control your machine and run/stream the gcode.
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F engrave, and jscut (browser based) will work too. F Engrave is nice because it lets you do vcarve inlays too.
In free mode, it will run forever. Yes, for ever.
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The nag screen will get longer though. It’s only $50, so use it till the nag gets up to a couple minutes, then buy it. By then you should appreciate how easy it is to use.
Fusion 360 does do CAM, but I found it a total nightmare for simple engravings. Works quite well for more elaborate 2.5d work, though.
I would probably use Fusion360, but with it being very cloud based and my home internet being so terrible, it’s not really an option for me. Estlcam is really weird in many ways (particularly with the user interface) and isn’t as fancy as some other options, but it does seem to have great community support and that is actually worth a lot. And once you get used to using it, the oddities are eventually forgotten about. I initially had a long mental list of “fixes” I was going to suggest to the developer, but I didn’t write them down and now I can only remember a couple of them. If they were that easily forgotten they weren’t really problems to fix, just things I had to get accustomed to.
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The only time I currently see myself ever using fusion CAM is if I was doing a large production run that I knew I was going to want to try and milk every spare second out of a job. It simple takes far too long to adjust the 5-8tabs of settings for every single operation, plus the 5+ tabs of tool settings. It is no doubt a more robust situation but the chances of me messing something up or just missing a setting have bitten me every single time I have used it.
With Estlcam I have made tool paths on my laptop while walking down two flights of stairs to the garage and then running them. I am more of a prototyper though, getting one part out fast is my priority more than getting 100 out as fast as possible.
As long as we are discussing ESTL and Fusion 360 Cam, does anyone know a good 3D designer in these softwares? I’ve got Fusion but It is a pain for me to learn. I guess I’m too old or something. I just can’t seem to figure it out.
Solidworks does a free education license now. Moment of Inspirarion is supposed to be fairly simple to use, but more versatile than tinker cad. Matter control has a tinker cad like interface, and a cool picture import feature, but combining shapes is sometimes a little buggy.
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Bite the bullet and learn fusion (at least for ?modelting.) Starting in tinkercad is good, gives you some of the basics for fusion.
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As far as other CAD options, ESTLcam is quite good, shows you what you need to mess with for the most part. I use vectric stuff because we have their makerspace edition ($100) and for wood stuff, it’s pretty awesome. I also use fusion for 3d models where the brute force parallel toolpaths would take way too long, like for a guitar build. I don’t really use it for any of the wood stuff I do, but for aluminum and carbon fiber, that’s my go to.
Look at Lars Christensen’s videos on YouTube. He has some very excellent tutorials on Fusion 360, taking you all the way through a sample project.
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I suggest checking out NYC CNC (AKA John Saunders) on YouTube if you want more info on Fusion 360. He covers both modeling and CAM. With his videos as a foundation I was able to pretty easily go from knowing nothing about modeling or machining to designing my own parts in Solidworks (a lot of 3d modeling programs are very similar) and machining them on a Haas.
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