[Philosofy]

I'm ready to hop into the fray as a CNC hobbyist. I have two mentors lined up (that don't know each other) to give me sage advice, but I've already run into a problem. I need a new roof, so the money set aside for a CNC machine is pretty much gone. My goal is to build my own machine from scratch. I was thinking that in the meantime I could get a computer and the CAD software, so when the machine actually gets built, I will have parts already designed and waiting to be made.

Is that putting the cart before the horse?

Also, I'm a Mac guy, so it looks like I'd have to buy a computer, but from what I've read so far, I'm better off with an older model with a serial port. Is that true? Can I still buy CAD software that works on old computers? Also, one of my mentors uses a Raspberry PI and an Arduino. Do those interface well with a laptop? And I want to eventually add a 4th axis lathe to the mix.

I also want my design computer to be a laptop. I travel for business, and it would be nice to be able to design in a hotel on the road.

Thanks!

[ger21]

No, it's not backwards.
Actually, learning all of the software first will make things a lot easier later.

Look at Fusion 360 for CAD/CAM if you want to use a mac.

You can't use a mac to control your machine, but I'm not familiar with the Arduino stuff.