Curious what you use for CAM?
Thanks! I haven't tried FreeCAD and didn't know if it included a CAM package. Most of my work to date has been more or less 2.5 D; no 3-D surfacing. I'm still a manual G-coder at this time; at least the CAD would let me do the drawing and tell me tangent points, etc. for arcs.I'm not sure of your question. Do you mean generating G-code for your CNC mill? If so, FreeCAD has that. It's called the PATH workbench.
Gee, the PATH workbench was there all the time... It is a standard workbench. It is part of the basic FreeCAD package I built from source. Ask devils4ever, I know nothing about it. But I'd like to learn about it!Thanks! I haven't tried FreeCAD and didn't know if it included a CAM package. Most of my work to date has been more or less 2.5 D; no 3-D surfacing. I'm still a manual G-coder at this time; at least the CAD would let me do the drawing and tell me tangent points, etc. for arcs.
Bruce
I would imagine FreeCAD is different, but probably not hugely different in concept. It would be a pain in the you know what to retool, but it isn't that hard. At least you know more than the basics about 3D CAD. I didn't know zip and had to learn it all from scratch. At least if you tried it, you wouldn't be out any $$$. If it proves to be too different, you do have something to fall back on.I had at least 6 hours a day to eat, sleep, conduct personal hygiene, and try to improve myself when I was in Iraq in 2004. There, of all places, I was able to get a copy of Solidworks 2002 from Haji, who had it accidentally mixed in with his bootleg DVD movies. I taught myself how to use it by going through the built-in tutorials while lying in my bunk during the wee hours. Since then, I've used SW '03, '06, 07, 09, 11, 14, 16... and a little bit of the DSS versions after that. Truth, 2004 is all I really need for shop work. It has a fastener library, materials library, FIE (static), and all the tools I need. My current install is 2016. Unfortunately, native tool paths didn't come around until 2020, so I still need a CAM package. I have a SheetCAM license for the plasma table, but that doesn't do milling. There are 3rd party CAM plug-ins ($$) for earlier versions.
Because of the time committed to SW and the fact that I like it very much, I've been resistant to try FreeCAD. Not only would I have to learn it, I'd have to de-program what I already know as muscle memory. Maybe it's a sign that I'm getting old and rigid, unable to adapt to new patterns. I don't think my attitude has always been so. Same as how I feel I would be happier working freely with a T-square and angles, especially when designing, I feel that way about CAD just being easier in Solidworks. Like, I should keep a Windows XP machine running SW 2004 permanently offline so I can just design with what I know, but that never works. I'd look at that antiquated PC and realize I'm much older than it is, and wonder what that says about me.
There are YouTube examples of using the Path workbench, and at least one that takes you through the whole process from first sketch to milled out part. Similar for 3-D printed parts. I am not at a stage I can tangle with them (yet), but I will.Thanks! I haven't tried FreeCAD and didn't know if it included a CAM package. Most of my work to date has been more or less 2.5 D; no 3-D surfacing. I'm still a manual G-coder at this time; at least the CAD would let me do the drawing and tell me tangent points, etc. for arcs.
Bruce
I'll check out the videos. I'm not doing anything too elaborate on my Tormach at this time, mostly 2-D and 2.5-D stuff at this point. FreeCAD would likely do all of my current projects. I have a 4th axis on my Tormach; sure engraving with rotation would be great, but I haven't had a need to do it (yet).There are YouTube examples of using the Path workbench, and at least one that takes you through the whole process from first sketch to milled out part. Similar for 3-D printed parts. I am not at a stage I can tangle with them (yet), but I will.