Hey guys! I am new here I ordered my Onefinity a month or so ago and it should be here around the last week of April or first week of May. I am starting to get things around for it so that I am ready when it arrives. One thing I am looking for input on is the software that some of you would suggest. Does it come with software? Is there a different recommendation? Vcarve Pro? Others? I am also going to be adding the Jtech laser either to my current order or getting it shortly after I receive the machine so I want to make sure that the software is also compatible with that unless it needs to have its own. Let me know what you guys use and suggest!
I use vcarve desktop which works with the laser. Desktop does limit your work area to 24x24 unless you do tiling I believe is what it’s called. But if you go to vectrics website they list all if their software and the differences between them. There are some cheaper softwares out there that will work. I haven’t used any of them for this machine but I have used fusion 360 (free for hobbiest/small business) and easel from inventables (also free) with my old machine which was an xcarve. I know there are other software people are using. I have seen them post on the forum about it. So you can probably find more about them by searching the forum. But for the price vcarve has served me well. And I will probably eventually upgrade it sometime in the future.
Yeah it used to be as long as you made under 100k you could still use the same version as personal for free but idk if it has changed since then or not.
Thanks @rblur01. that is clear as can be… So if you are a small business it can be free as a startup for up to 3 years… But registered differently than personal.
As good as I can read (which may not be the greatest lol) that’s what I’ve always thought. It’s worth a shot if someone can qualify for it and can save a little money.
Hi Ryan - welcome to the forums. There are a couple threads about this, so I do encourage you to search the forum for a more in depth answer.
In short, the OF comes with a controller and control software (if you ordered one – now that you can order without the controller).
You will still need to develop your model, generate the tool paths, and export some gcode for the controller to interpret. For that you need CAD software and CAM software - there are lot of choices out there. Some are feature rich and difficult to learn, and others are easy to use but lack advanced features. I always recommend starting with easy to use (Easel, Carbide Create), and grow into the more complicated applications (like Vectric, Fusion, etc.).
If you are interested in the process, I did a a series of videos on that a while back. First episode covers the end to end digital manufacturing process, and episode 4 covers more detailed CAD/CAM processes.
For someone who had no knowledge of how to do anything CNC before hand, I have found the Carveco software to be very user friendly. I tried some of the other demo versions of the other Cad/CAM software but the Carveco software seems to be simple and dummy friendly. I started the first month with just Maker then upgraded to Maker+ after getting use to the software. This seems the more expensive route to go but I have found the speed and ease of use to be worth the extra cost. I am already doing carves without having to google stuff every few minutes.
Hi @JDog
I’m in the same boat (or will be) as someone who is entering the CNC world with zero experience. May I ask what other software you tried? I sat through a ton of Carveco vids and it does seem to be intuitive, but a lot of folks on the forum are pro Vetric and/or Fusion360.
I still have carbide create, fusion 360, v-carve pro (trial), and vectric aspire (Trial) installed on my pc. I found the Carveco youtube tutorials very easy to follow compared to watching some of the others. I spent almost 3 months before my OF was delivered looking into these before I made the choice to spend the money on a yearly subscription. One month in a upgraded from maker to maker+ for the additional features. I think after the year is over I may revisit these others to see if I understand it better. This is my first carve using the software to make a carving of my logo.
Anytime hope this helps. One last note: The carveco bitmap to vector and vector doctor features I have found very useful. Helps find vector errors when importing images to create projects from and what has to be fixed. Helped me learn what to do from starting the project and going through the design and toolpath process. Slightly more intuitive than the others. JMO.
