[Georg]

As a CNC novice i would like to hear of your experience. What is the best software combination for the project you see in the photos? As a hobby wakeboarder, i want to router boards by myself. The outline of the boards is oval, top and bottom surface have convex and concave shapes.




So far i guess you will agree on using mach3. What would be the cheapest CNC/CAM solution in addition to mach3 for projects like wakeboards. Are these forms considered 2.5D or 3D ? any free software?

George

[ger21]

3D. Mach3 just controls the machine, and has nothing to do with the type of parts you make.

First, you'll need to make a 3D model in a CAD or modeling package. If you have no experience in this area, the learning curve may be steep. A lot of people may say to try Rhino, but it's far from free at about $800. You could try Alibre Xpress, which is free, and see if you can model the board in that. www.alibre.com/xpress

As for CAM, there is a free choice. Freemill, at www.cncportal.com However, it's rather limited, and may require jumping through some hoops to get what you want. Inexpensive options are MeshCAM and Vectrics Cut3D.

[mc-motorsports]

I use Rhino, but it's far from free, and I also run Mach3 and love it! Rhino3d and Rhino CAM will set you back atleast $1800, and that's for the basic CAM, which I run. The PRO version is MUCH better, but will cost another $3K. I never found anything that was free that was worth using.