Cabinet Design Software

[Aiph5u (Aiph5u (not affiliated with Onefinity))]

Hey Dan,

@DaddyDan

I have been told to find already made designs to “plug and play” into the foreman elite I bought until I feel “brave enough” to challenge myself and learn how to make designs in vcarve.

sounds to me as if you have been told that before you travel to the destination you would like to go to or that you have in mind, you should first go to other places where others have already been.

I think if you are new to designing virtual models in 3D (which you want to export as toolpath and mill on your CNC machine), you should know that when attempting to master a CNC machine, learning to use a CAD/CAM software is what takes the most time. Therefore my opinion is, the sooner you start with working with a CAD/CAM software, the better.

If you want to use Vectric VCarve Pro, which many people here would recommend, …

@Aiph5u

…generally I would start early and go through the following very helpful information:

• New to Vectric
• Introduction to CNC
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Training Videos – VCarve Pro

@Aiph5u

Unlike Fusion360 and other Autodesk Software products which are based on online subscription (and as far as I’ve heard constantly change their features and restrict the free versions), Vectric allows for lifelong and offline use.

With Vectric, you can get a free unlimited time trial version with a few restrictions. This allows to get to know the software, which is also possible thanks to the extensive video documentation.

The Vectric trial version however does not allow you to export g-code toolpaths . But you can export them later when you bought VCarve Pro.

Free and open software

If you want to learn to create 3D objects and export them as toolpath to execute them on your CNC machine without paying money, you could also begin with

🢡 FreeCAD

which is completely free and open.

It offers vast documentation and tutorials:

• Documentation: User Hub
  • Getting started
  • Frequently asked questions
  • Tutorials

FreeCAD has a lot of different capabilities, they are called Workbenches:

• Workbench List

One of the workbenches used for CAD is the Part Workbench, another is PartDesign Workbench, you may also start with 2D objects on the Draft Workbench, which you can use to create 3D objects later.

The part of FreeCAD that exports toolpaths suitable for being executed by a CNC machine is the Path Workbench.

@Aiph5u

Note that you don’t need to engage the expense of acquiring Vectric Aspire just to be able work on 3D objects. You can do this with the free and open 3D software Blender.

If you want to work on vector graphics, you can use the free and open vector graphics editor Inkscape.