Design Software - ArtCam

[old man emu]

If you are interested in creating items that are more artistic than industrial, then I suggest that you have a look at ArtCam, http://www.artcam.com/

This is a relatively inexpensive (about 130 Euro) software that can be used for designing things like jewellery, badges and such. Things that have a lot of internal lumps and bumps.

The software was developed for use with Subtractive Manufacture (that is, cutting away material from a block using a CNC milling machine). However,if you use it to design an object, you can save the design file using one of the CAD fie types, then import the file to your slicer program to create the Additive Manufacture G-code.

I have ArtCam installed on my workshop computer, which is a way away from where I'm siting now, so I can't check if ArtCam will export designs as *.stl files.

If you go to the ArtCam site, you can download a trial version to see how you like it.

Old Man Emu

[CreativeCoPilot]

Right- when I think of ArtCam, I guess I immediately think of milling something. I've never really thought about using it for printing, I guess.
Is your background in CNC milling? What other types of software do you use?

[old man emu]

I haven't played around with ArtCam a lot. I just obtained a copy when I was starting out with CNC. I haven't got up to speed with it, but I've just re-installed it this weekend.

I built a CNC machine, but always had trouble designing objects. Plus I had other priorities.

I am using Rhino as my CAD program for industrial type things. I was going to set up a scanner using a Kinect, but I'm told that I will have to do some serious upgrades to my computer hardware to make that a success.

OME

[CreativeCoPilot]

Depending on when your copy is from (mine is certainly an older one), it seems as though they have made quite a few updates to the software. Not sure if you've been to the site recently though. http://www.artcam.com/
I personally have a Zen CNC mill- (a super small desktop unit) that I have been trying to get to run right ever since purchasing it. I had an older computer with a parallel port specifically for running it, but when it just became too much of a hassle, I started looking for ways to switch over to USB. So, it's a project in the works.

In terms of using a Kinect to scan stuff, I'd say the most important thing to consider is the graphics card. I purchased my last laptop (a lower-end model) specifically just to scan stuff with. Maybe that's the route you'd want to go too? Not sure. I haven't used the latest release of ReconstructMe (Kinect scanning software), however I can say that it's certainly a lot of fun.

[CreativeCoPilot]

I'm not sure if this is still applicable for graphics requirements, but I'd say it's a good start when looking for a new computer/laptop:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...RQU81TWc#gid=0

[old man emu]

I've got an old copy of ArtCam. I did have a look at the current version shown on the ArtCam site. They have made some great improvements. I think that ArtCam is worthy of a recommendation as useful software for 3D object creation.

Conversion to USB is a problem for older CNC machines and their CAM software. Sometimes you have to go with "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." There's something about data transfer rates that screws up USBs for this sort of job.

OME

[CreativeCoPilot]

Yeah, I guess I got to the point where I had an entire workstation dedicated to an old POS computer that didn't meet my design requirements on any other level otherwise, so I just couldn't justify having it take up so much space.

Recently I went on AliExpress and purchased these:
(1x) http://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?...05&isPremium=y
(3x) http://www.aliexpress.com/item/A931A...093264436.html

With a typical Parallel Port operated CNC controller, the power that goes to it also drives the steppers, but this guy was sending signals perfectly, but just didn't have enough juice to drive anything, so that's why I need the extra stepper drivers. They're still on their way, so I hope everything works out the way I'm intending. But yeah, installed the software, and everything seems to be working just fine so far.

[AndrewK]

Wow, I didn't realize they had a new version with all these improvements. That's awesome news.

[BurnItDownBaby]

I just tried ArtCam out last night, and was very impressed. How did I not know how awesome this software was? Thanks for turning me onto it!

[Maggie]

How much is Artcam? I see they have a free trial available for download. Anyone know what the price is if I want to keep the full version?