A 15-minute intro to hobby CNC | Hacker News Reader

A 15-minute intro to hobby CNC

lcamtuf.substack.com

21 pointszdw4 comments

I've got a $200 LinkSprite 1310 3 axis CNC machine I've been ignoring for far too long. The universe has been prodding me into firing it up. First I think I'll have to learn CAD, something open source.

What do ya'll use?

FreeCAD/Ondsel ES are the main open source game in town. I know SolveSpace is out there and sound pretty serious, but it doesn't appear to have enough CAM built in to go from 3D model to G-Code to send to your CNC.

Some people have made Inkscape to G-Code workflows, but that is probably extremely limited for anything beyond engraving.

I used to hear mention of HeeksCNC, but I haven't seen anyone talk about it for years, and I've never tried it.

Easel is freemium (but NOT open source). It is an online service, which I hate, and it is very limited, but for many things it is easier than just about anything else (also using it is required for some machines at a maker space I'm a member of). That might not be a bad tool for someone clone into a beginner friendly limited CAM package. It would get you pretty far. I might have to try to set a weekend aside to try doing something like that.

Personally, while I started with an older version of FreeCAD, I mostly use Fusion360 currently. With the introduction of Ondsel ES, I've been meaning to give that a try, but at the previously mentioned makerspace, there is also a machine that only allows (policy, not actual machine limitation) using Fusion360 for CAM, so I still would be somewhat tied to that.

I'll join in on the question. I got a freeby noname 3018 machine, except the power supply and spindle are missing. I'm in the process of finding out exactly what to buy to do something with it. This post (and the guide included) come at exactly the right time for me.

What sort of work do you wish to do? How do you wish to approach it?

Usual options are closed-source/commercial:

- Carbide Create (ob. discl., I work for the company)

- CarveCo

- Easel

- Vectric

- MeshCAM (3D CAM only)

- Alibre Atom3D

Less well-known options:

- Estlcam

- PixelCNC

Some opensource options:

- Inkscape (will need CAM)

- F-Engrave

- Kiri:Moto

- Temujin

- Solvespace

- FreeCAD w/ its CAM workbench

- Blender and BlenderCAM (or some other 3D CAM tool)

The big players are:

- Onshape

- Autodesk Fusion 360

If you're into programming there is OpenSCAD --- I've been working on a CAM option for that, but it's early days yet: https://github.com/WillAdams/gcodepreview

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