Cad/cam Software recommendation please

I'm looking for a software recommendation please. I'd like to design small medallion or coin sized objects. I'm familiar with the Adobe suite of products. I own a license. My background is in construction, I use cad tools on a daily basis. Mostly softplan, but have a bit of knowledge of autocad.

If you were going to draw an exact replica of a US quarter or half dollar with the intent of milling it on a cnc, what software would you use? No, I'm not looking to forge some coins. I'm actually an avid golfer, and I'd like to create my own custom ball marker. Something nobody else has. Something nobody else can get.

I have several friends with cnc equipment that I can have machine this for me. One guy has a fadal 30 hp machine. Not sure what the others have. But they are all large machines used for prototyping and large parts.

I know I could design what I want in Adobe, but that doesn't help in the machining process. Id like to be able to give them a file, and say, "machine this for me."

Knowing my my end result is to generate the appropriate gcode, what would you use to design the coin? Obviously, I don't want to spend a ton of money on a software package to do my own design work. But I want to be able to give them something easy for them to convert and use, or they may not do the favor for me.

Ive looked at fusion360. Not sure about the engraving or carving capabilities. The finished coin will either have relief carved letters or raised lettering. So text handling is an issue. Coin size is approximately 2" diameter .125" thick.

Thoughts or suggestions? I really want to do this myself rather than hiring a designer. Kind of a hobby. Kind of so I can say I made and designed it myself.

Thanks for for your consideration and help!

Rick

As I recall Adobe will output a DXF or STL file that your friends' CAM software should be able to read. Since the CAM post processor and output G code is machine specific it is best to hand you friends a drawing file.

Adobe is a company, that makes a variety of programs, none of which can do 3D modeling, afaik.




What you want to do requires a lot of skill and artistic ability.
You could probably do it in Fusion 360, but it's text tools are not that great.
Aspire might be an option, but it's expensive.
Blender perhaps, but the learningcurve will be very steep.

Sounds like a cool idea...

IF... these markers are something that you can model from clay or wood or foam (even (especially) if it's a larger-than-scale model) then you could probably pay someone to 3D scan the model, clean it up, and export it as a dumb solid. At that point your milling guy SHOULD be able to take that information and assign toolpaths even with relatively low-end CAM software.

If you can't model this by hand and if this is mostly a hobby, I think I'd ask my main CNC milling guy who he uses (if not himself) for good 3D surface designs and contact them. Explain what you are trying to do and ask if you can buy a couple of hours of their time. Take with you as complete a drawing or sample so that they understand what it is you are trying to do Watch what they do and how they do it and if it's something you think you'd want to tackle yourself then you'll need to make some decisions about purchasing software.
A program that will produce good CNC-able 3D surfaces is going to come with a pretty healthy price, so work with your milling guy and make sure everyone's information will play well together before jumping in the deep end.

Thanks guys! I thought this would be easier. I'm pretty proficient in illustrator. So I know I can draw something that looks like what I'd like to machine. My goal was to have the lowest impact possible on my friends. One is an independent machinist. The other two work for a Fortune 500 company. Harder to slip personal projects in with them.

If im going to take the time to design something, I was hoping to use software that would make it easy to migrate it smoothly to machining. If it's a pain in the ass, I may only get rm to do this once. Or maybe not even at all.

When the idea struck I had visions of making multiple designs. Looks like that's out the window too!

hahahahahaha

Rick

A suggestion: Draw up what you want and then work with the members here by submitting a RFQ https://www.cnczone.com/forums/rfq-request-for-quote-/. Somebody will be able to help you out. There is a lot of talent and capibilities within the membership of the CNC Zone. I might even be interested carving out your project.

What you are describing is not a trivial task and would require skill / experience to pull off. Probably the best program to create something like this would be Zbrush or 3d Coat. It could also be modeled in most any polygon modeling program like, Cinema 4D, Maya, Blender etc. Doing something like this in a CAD application like Fusion or even Rhino would be extremely challenging.

-Shane

So let's change the question a bit....

If I was a professional doing coin or medallion production, what software and hardware tools would I be using?

I certainly don't want to become a professional coin maker, but I don't want to struggle using the wrong tools either.

My vision for this project was just to have something unique that nobody else could have. But then I had aspirations of designing my own putter. My excitement ran a hundred different directions. I could build this or that or anything I wanted! That's what drew me to fusion.

The bottom line is that I don't have an issue learning the software. I don't mind failing. The education is its own reward. But I don't want to try to build an interstate highway system with a teaspoon either. It's possible, but maybe not the best tool for the job.

Rick

ZBrush for the modeling and a 3d cam solution that can machine from a polygon mesh file something like an .stl .obj etc. I am not sure if Fusion 360 will machine from a poly mesh but af few low cost solutions that could do the job: Deskproto, Meshcam, Aspire, Visualmill.

Here is an example of a project created in ZBrush and them 3d machined. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/xmGKE



-Shane

Jim,

If I wanted to send a preliminary design over to you, what format would you prefer? I have some hand sketches made up, but have not done anything electronically. I was hoping to pin down what software pack to utilize before I made a commitment.

Thanks so so much for your time and consideration!

Rick

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tailslid1

Jim,

If I wanted to send a preliminary design over to you, what format would you prefer? I have some hand sketches made up, but have not done anything electronically. I was hoping to pin down what software pack to utilize before I made a commitment.

Thanks so so much for your time and consideration!

Rick

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I'm not familiar with all of the formats that Adobe will output, but a BMP or JPG could be a good starting point, those can be easily converted to a DXF as long as it is pretty much a line drawing. It's possible to add in the depths and profiles manually.

The folks who work at the US Mint use a hardware-software system from Geomagic, which I sell, called Freeform. It consists of a haptic arm, which lets them feel the model with a stylus, and a software program that gives them the ability to push and pull at the "virtual clay", construct curves and clean surfaces over it, emboss the clay with 2D images, and includes a lot of other sophisticated functions as well. It's not cheap, but it's the best tool I know of for virtual sculpting, and I offer discounts on it that help make it more affordable.

Andrew Werby
computersculpture.com

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tailslid1

I'm looking for a software recommendation please. I'd like to design small medallion or coin sized objects. I'm familiar with the Adobe suite of products. I own a license. My background is in construction, I use cad tools on a daily basis. Mostly softplan, but have a bit of knowledge of autocad.

If you were going to draw an exact replica of a US quarter or half dollar with the intent of milling it on a cnc, what software would you use? No, I'm not looking to forge some coins. I'm actually an avid golfer, and I'd like to create my own custom ball marker. Something nobody else has. Something nobody else can get.

I have several friends with cnc equipment that I can have machine this for me. One guy has a fadal 30 hp machine. Not sure what the others have. But they are all large machines used for prototyping and large parts.

I know I could design what I want in Adobe, but that doesn't help in the machining process. Id like to be able to give them a file, and say, "machine this for me."

Knowing my my end result is to generate the appropriate gcode, what would you use to design the coin? Obviously, I don't want to spend a ton of money on a software package to do my own design work. But I want to be able to give them something easy for them to convert and use, or they may not do the favor for me.

Ive looked at fusion360. Not sure about the engraving or carving capabilities. The finished coin will either have relief carved letters or raised lettering. So text handling is an issue. Coin size is approximately 2" diameter .125" thick.

Thoughts or suggestions? I really want to do this myself rather than hiring a designer. Kind of a hobby. Kind of so I can say I made and designed it myself.

Thanks for for your consideration and help!

Rick

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Hey Rick,

So what you describe as your desire and current design capabilities, should not be too hard, or expensive to get what you want.

I would divide your project into 2 "sections" so you understand and can move ahead.

coin medallion design and your ability to design in your adobe product is already a good result.

What your are looking for with that to get to a machine is "embossing". Which can happen from a raster (picture, bitmap) of your design and also the vectors. So with abobe, illustrator and photoshop handle you designing!

The kicker comes here. An "emboss" will use a 3d cut/toolpath.

So "TEXT" wont be precise in an emboss.

You can break the text from that design process, and have the machine address the text in a second process.

So thats where you need to get input from one of your machinist friends. How you cut the emboss, then cut the text in a second operation. If cutting the text "in" its pretty straight forward. If cutting the text "raised", that needs to be planned for, to leave material for it in the embossed cut, or cut it first, and avoid the text with the emoboss cut...

Not too difficult.

I wont get into "recommending which software"... i have one. Plenty of people here can recommend a software that can make a 3d relief/emboss model to cut.

Just a little help from your friend regarding the mix of the 2 process.

So, pull a quarter out if your pocket and look at george.

George would be the emboss, and the text would be cut with text, using engrave or profileing.

You could cut the text and all the flats with a toolpath that would make that look nice, then imagine "leaving a raised part of the material" in a shape of the head. Then do a 3d cut of the head emboss with the depth at the flats...

Buff, polish, rinse lather and repeat.