You want software that’s easy to learn and affordable, even if it isn’t the ultimate in powerful. I’ve got a lot more to say in my article on how Pros vs Beginners choose software, but let’s keep it simple here: Who wants to invest hundreds of hours before you can do even something simple? While faster drawing and faster g-code may sound great, Beginners and Hobbyists often just want to get to making their parts as soon as possible. That’s because they’re manufacturing potentially thousands of parts from one g-code program. They want CAM software that generates g-code that executes as fast as possible on their CNC machine, even if that means only experts can make the software do anything at all. They want CAD that lets experts create precision drawings faster. Pros need the software that performs best for someone who is an expert in using the software. And, it ensures new hires are more likely to know the popular software they’ve chosen so less training.īeginners and Hobbyists shouldn’t care about either one of those issues.īTW, the leading CAD software for Pros is SolidWorks, and the leading CAM software is Mastercam, though Fusion 360 is moving up fast. It ensures they’re more likely to have the same software as Customers so they can share files. In either case, choosing the market leader or industry standard software for their market may make sense. Shops need to be able to hire Talent that’s familiar with the software without requiring a lot of expensive training to come up to speed.Many shops run the market-leading software packages because they need to exchange files with Customers.The reason why that may not work is that Pros and Beginners need to solve different problems. Get what the same software Pro’s use, how can you regret it? In many pursuits, it’s tempting to want to start with the best. Getting off to a great start in CNC is worth it! Pro vs Beginner/Hobbyist CAD CAM Software They’ll save you loads of time and frustration in exchange for a few dollars. There are even offers available that bundle a couple of these together.

You only need to come up with three software packages–CAD, CAM, and Feeds/Speeds Calculator. It’s worth taking time and potentially money to get the right solution for you. And it will be the software you spend the most time learning and using.

Most of the free software that’s available (but not all!) is inferior to the paid, and there are many paid packages that are not all that expensive anyway.ĬAD/CAM will be the most complex software you’ll use for your cnc programming.

Solidworks for hobbyist