I’ve never used any cad/cam software before and I am looking at both carveco maker and Vectric, does anyone use either of theses programs or have any pros or cons for either??
I don’t think you’d go wrong with either. I personally use Vectric, but I have carveco and will be trying it out soon. Carveco is only 15$ a month, so you can try it for a few months and if you don’t like it, buy vectric.
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@Jase -
If you are just getting into CNC and CAM, I would recommend starting with Easel, Carbide Create, or something less expensive like CamBam. After that I would recommend getting into Fusion. Once you’ve honed your skills a bit, then investing in Vectric or something similar makes sense. Frankly, there’s only one feature from Vectric I want that I can’t do in Fusion 360 (detailed v carving for inlays), and it’s not a deal breaker for me right now.
In the end, it depends on what you are going to use your CNC for. If you want to do a lot of V carving, then Vectric is the way to go. If you want to cut shapes out and make mostly 2d or 2.5d parts, then there are a number of options with a significantly less pricey entry point.
I have a couple videos on CAD/CAM 101 if you are interested (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCVvx3PnAfycJn_ZO_ehbS0luWC8BYV-J). Might be time to start a new series with a more deliberate intent. I’d also recommend you check out Winston Moy - he has a number of intro videos that are really informative.
0.02
-Tom
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Carveco has a 1 year subscription for 90 dollars.
Totally worth it in my humble opinion.
I’ve used Easel and CC for several projects. The thing I like the least with both Easel and CC are the limitations. Especially the tool path limitations you’re forced to use.
I purchased Carveco and love it. It has all the features I need and more. Such as, climb cutting and conventional cutting options, ramping strategies for pockets, and V carve strategies. It also has the ability to export as several different file types. Super convenient if you have a laser…
It’s a win win for the scope of work I do.
Hey @Cody - I didn’t the $90 offering - that’s fairly reasonable. Fusion 360 is still free with a similar feature set (aside from the V carving).
-Tom
In Vcarve desktop which gcode do you save the toolpaths for the onefinity, I know there’s a couple different GRBL’s? you can save to. I am starting to design upcoming projects to carve once I receive my machine. I just purchased Vcarve desktop so its been a learning experience already for me. I currently have been running a bobscnc evo and right now I’m using Easel which has been pretty basic but works for me. Any help is appreciated Thanks in advance sir.
are you asking which Post Processor you’d choose?
Yes sir which post processor
you can use .gcode or something general like that and it will work fine. We’ll also be uploading specific ones to our site once units start to ship.
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Am I missing something with easel? Now granted i dont have my cnc yet and i have 0 experience in this area. Just using the software i can get my hands on to learn. I am not liking easel very much. You cant design anything with any precision to it. maybe i just have not figured it out yet? try a simple block 10x10in and you want a 3" hole placed, center of hole needs to be 5.6 inch from x edge and 4.3 inch from y edge. You have to guess how far the .* is from the line. I really hope carveco or vectric does a better job i hope?
That was my experience when I tried it too.
Did anyone buy the vcarve program from onefinity?
Yes, I did. Have been playing with the trial version until I get the registration information. Went with VCarve Pro to take full advantage of the OF working area and other enhancements to desktop.
I just downloaded the free version last night!
@St0mp - if you want high precision without a lot of fuss, then you need a CAD program with dimension capabilities. I don’t think Vectric supports that, but they do have a grid system and you can precisely position against the grid coordinates. That should get you by until you learn something like Fusion 360.
Hope this helps.
-Tom
Okay, you lost me on this. Unless we are talking past each other by me not knowing what you mean then yes Vectric very much supports dimensions.
Hi @Markevans36301 - unless I missed it, Vectric does not have sketches where you can precisely dimension drawings. Best you can do is use the grid system and place things using absolute values. BUT - I’ve not used Vectric extensively, so if you can draw vectors and dimension them, I never stumped across that capability. Happy to be corrected 
-Tom
Yes, the paradigm is quite different but if you understand it it does fine. Yes the dimensions are for illustration in the Vectric programs like in the drawing section of Fusion 360.
I prefer to design in Fusion 360 and then do the final clean up and toolpathing in Vcarve but I have seen people do whole fantastic projects starting in Vcarve. There are lots of tools for precision placement they just are not the same ones as you find in Fusion 360.
Roger all. I see you can dimension, but it seems to be for illustration purposes rather than constraints. Good to know
-Tom
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