I would like to see more articles about CAD->CAM software. I think the 3D printers are pretty cool, but sometimes you need to cut a block instead of build it up. From what I've seen at Makezine, and Instructables, there are a notable number of DIY CNC machines out there. It would be nice to see CAM software affordable for these folks so they can spend more time making and less time futzing with kludgie software.
Beth, does the solid model actually get used to machine the part? If that's the case, how much automation does this bring to the process for the machinist?
You are right, Alex. We haven't written about CNC software lately. Most of the CAD vendors have some CNC integration and compatibilities, but it isn't a feature set that they readily talk up. It more likely that CNC vendors have their own proprietary programs that are tuned for particularities of their specialty systems. This was interesting to me because it was a variation of CAD for a very specific audience, that be users of CNC machines. So the idea is giving them just enough CAD without requiring them to invest in expensive CAD platforms to get the cursory functionality that they need.
This struck a chord as the first piece we've done on CNC software in a while. Do most CAD vendors offer CNC connectivity, or do CNC machines tend to have proprietary software to run the machine and that's it?
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