CNC laser baby steps

Larry · May 13, 2022, 12:25:46 PM

Our local maker space provides Adobe Illustrator software and a variety of Epilog lasers to play with, all at no charge. Last night I took my first class in Adobe Illustrator to learn the very basic's. I saw enough to know that's its going to take me a while and commitment to really become proficient.

Before making that commitment in time, I'm wondering if Illustrator is the best software for me to learn. Sense I know nothing, I just what to make sure this is the right path for me to take.

btulloh · May 13, 2022, 12:55:46 PM

Illustrator is deep and complex although you probably won't need to go too deep for your needs. Still, there are probably simpler programs that are easier to learn that can do everything you need to do. Kinda comes down to defining your needs and then finding a tool to fit. It can't hurt to take the class though. Taking the class and talking with others in it will probably help you figure out how to proceed. Good luck and have fun and keep us posted.

rusticretreater · May 13, 2022, 01:27:56 PM

I have never heard of someone using Illustrator to do these things. If you get adept at using it, I bet you can make some really awesome designs.

There are tons of freeware programs ranging from bad to fantastic. Find out what file types the laser will use and then you can find software that generates those files. You could design at home and take the usb disk to the makerspace. Try to get familiar will the file formats and their file extensions.

Illustrator is a pricey program. The key is that the files generated are able to loaded by other software programs in the future if Illustrator is not available. You may have to save several file types to insure you have something that will be transferable. I am wondering if Epilog has a special driver installed for Illustrator.

The last consideration is if you decide to go full bore and want to buy a setup. You will have all your work available if you don't want to spring for Illustrator.

low_48 · May 13, 2022, 06:16:15 PM

Depends on what you want to draw and cut. Many folks use CorelDraw. There is also Inkscape, and that is free. But if you want to do more cutting and less engraving, a true CAD software may work better for you. Never heard of a makerspace that was free.

21incher · May 13, 2022, 10:47:15 PM

Like mentioned above it really depends on what you are engraving or cutting. I have cheap Chinese lasers and for most projects use my shilloute cameo 3 software to create the svg files that are easy to import into lightburn. For photos there are some good programs online that are handy to achieve a good contrast. For custom artwork I use inkscape and for dimension parts I used to use Fusion 360 when it was free for home use but now am trying to learn free cad. Illustrator is too expensive for the couple projects I do but if you have access to training learn it. It will help you get started with most other packages should you want to try different ones to see what works best for your needs.

btulloh · May 13, 2022, 11:20:47 PM

BTW, 21 unless something changed recently, Fusion is still free for home users. It's just harder to find the right place to get the license. I'll dig up the link if you need. The other side of that is I really don't find Fusion 360 to be all that great. It feels like a beta product even after five or six years. It's hard for me to believe companies will pay for it and depend on it.

I think I tried Freecad briefly a couple years ago but It didn't grab me. I'm curious to see if it works for you. Maybe I should give it another test drive.

ronwood · May 13, 2022, 11:52:03 PM

Larry,

I use Vcarve from Vectric. It has a laser module.

Ron

21incher · May 14, 2022, 12:00:15 AM

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Quote from: btulloh on May 13, 2022, 11:20:47 PM
BTW, 21 unless something changed recently, Fusion is still free for home users. It's just harder to find the right place to get the license. I'll dig up the link if you need. The other side of that is I really don't find Fusion 360 to be all that great. It feels like a beta product even after five or six years. It's hard for me to believe companies will pay for it and depend on it.

I think I tried Freecad briefly a couple years ago but It didn't grab me. I'm curious to see if it works for you. Maybe I should give it another test drive.

About a year ago they told me no more free licenses were being issued. They wanted a little under $300.00 a year for home licenses. Don't know if that may have changed that back now. I liked it. I am trained in Solid works, Solid edge, and CATIA. I used them in my career so Fusion 360 was easy for me to learn. Plus it was easy to create simple g code with a cam program. I am hating freecad so far.

btulloh · May 14, 2022, 07:45:51 AM

Here's the link for the personal license. https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/personal

They keep cutting out things for the free version but still usable.

I used Autodesk products for a long time, so F360 is pretty comfortable. There are some maddening differences in personality, but at least it's a real thing. Sounds like you've got the same take on freecad as me.

21incher · May 18, 2022, 06:38:21 PM

Quote from: btulloh on May 14, 2022, 07:45:51 AM
Here's the link for the personal license. https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/personal

They keep cutting out things for the free version but still usable.

I used Autodesk products for a long time, so F360 is pretty comfortable. There are some maddening differences in personality, but at least it's a real thing. Sounds like you've got the same take on freecad as me.

Last time I tried renewing it they told me I had reached my limit and had to start paying. Maybe something has changed now but I uninstalled it and lost all my files that were stored online. I am looking at V Carve now because It's not subscription based.

Crusarius · May 18, 2022, 08:04:10 PM

If you are looking for simple line drawing geometric stuff I started using carbide create. it works well for programming my standalone CNC. YOu can import DXF and SVG';s into it and assign tool paths.

Come to think about it, it may not work for laser.

Larry · May 18, 2022, 08:15:44 PM

Going back to our maker space tomorrow to take a course in Autodesk Tinkercad. Don't have any idea what it is, but so long as they want to teach me for free I'm going.

Is there a connection between Tinkercad and Fusion360?

Crusarius · May 18, 2022, 08:34:27 PM

My wife using tinkercad and likes it. She also uses autocad. She showed me how it works and it looks like a really good program. I have never needed to get into it because I am an autocad user.

I wonder how it would work for programming my CNC?

btulloh · May 18, 2022, 09:58:06 PM

I'll be interested to hear how vcad works out. I've heard of tinkercad but didn't know it was an autodesk product. Not sure how it mght tie in with F360, but probably just by svg files or similar. F360 personal license doesn't provide dxf capability any longer unless you buy credits.

My problem is that I need 2d, 3d, and analysis plus architectural as well as mechanical design. Nothing affordable seems to provide all that. Mechanical Desktop/Autocad used to do a pretty good job of covering all that, but that doesn't exist anymore. (I actually started using Autocad when it was a MS-DOS based program. The dark ages.). The last license I had was around 2001ish. My license was paid by the company I worked for. Now I'm on my own nickel and I'm not doing anything that would justify that kind of expense. Sound familiar? Fusion 360 is interesting and feels familiar to anyone that has an Autocad background, but it also lacks a lot of things that made Acad fast to use. A full subscription is too pricey for personal use, but the lower priced versions lack important capabilities. Maybe this discussion will help identify an affordable product that works for all of us.

For now I'll be following along but unfortunately I don't have anytimeright now to try out other programs and help out directly.

rusticretreater · May 19, 2022, 12:21:50 AM

One of the programs I use is something called CamBam. You can generate Cam files(gcode) from other files that you import, or you can make your own designs using the 2D/3D editor. It has support for plugins and has a free trial. The license is only $150.

aigheadish · May 19, 2022, 06:48:07 AM

I'll 2nd or 3rd LightBurn and Inkscape as cheap/free options. It probably greatly depends on what you are doing. I also just have a cheap, not crazy powerful Chinese laser.

I use LightBurn with my laser and it's certainly functional for what I'm doing. It's probably not the best option for real design, but I usually make it work with importing other stuff into it, creating layers when needed to essentially trace stuff and go. It's simple, works pretty well, and does some neat stuff. There is also a great 3 or 4 part tutorial on youtube that shows you most of the bells and whistles.

While I'm not super proficient with it it seems like all design work takes tons of time.

Crusarius · May 19, 2022, 08:58:59 AM

Tested tinkerCAD last night. It will send files to the laser and has that module built in. Unfortunately it does not do gcode. It is intended for laser not milling.

But it is a pretty simple reasonable program. Maybe when I get my CNC project done I will play with the laser more using tinkercad?

Larry · May 19, 2022, 09:21:52 PM

I learned about Tinkercad today. This is my impression and remember I'm a complete novice. It looks like it might be good software for 3d printing. We did several practice prints and it was fairly easy to understand.

Next we covered laser work very fast. IMO not even close to Illustrator.

One thing that really peaked my interest was the ability to design Arduino circuits along with many other circuits. Than you can test the circuit to see if it works. The teacher glossed over this feature and we didn't get to design a circuit. One of the students told me its great for this application. After class I played with it and plan to learn more.

21incher · May 20, 2022, 07:33:28 PM

Thanks for the update Larry. I will have to try playing with that.

Joe Hillmann · May 27, 2022, 11:44:06 PM

Corel draw is what I use for all of my laser work. Doug Green has a youtube channel that explains everything you would ever want to know about Corel Draw when it comes to engraving.

The problem is Corel Draw no longer sells their product, instead you have to pay for it monthly or yearly. I would look for an old second hand copy from before they went to subscription only.

I do engraving for a living and I am using a 23 year old version of Corel Draw and it meets all my needs and then some.

21incher · January 09, 2024, 07:54:03 AM

I finally made up my mind and settled a CAD/ CAM package. I have tried most of the free ones over the last couple years and just felt most of them were clumsy for my use with the 3d printing, lasers, and CNC routers. I did like the fusion 360 package but when they ended the free version I lost everything on the cloud and couldn't justify not owning the package at the high yearly payments they now want. I finally settled on a sketch based lifetime package from Alibre. It is a slightly stripped down version of their business mainstream package but capable to do exactly what Iwant with basically no learning curve because of my years of using Solid works, Catia, Solid Edge, and Microcad. The permanent license is on sale now so it is affordable and I also signed up for the support and update package. The CAM is Meshcam and I still haven't set that up but I think it will be a great replacement for for the Vcarve package I was looking at but didn't really like. Here's a simple video I made about my first little project. Not sure if it will fit others needs but it's perfect for my needs.
The Winner Is Alibre Atom - YouTube