Hello,
I am new to the CNC world and need some advice on how to get started. I have been reading a lot of the blogs on here and realize that there is more to it then what I thought.
my hobby is working with wood, I love building things and I wanted to add to my arsenal by buying a x-carve. I am just not sure on what to get for just starting.
I am having the biggest problem with the soft wear, I understand the concepts of the software but I don’t know what I should choose as a hobbyist or if I need anything besides Easel. I am not sure where I should start, can anyone help!
You don’t have to have an X-carve to run Easel. You can start learning the program and see what it can do before you decide to buy the machine.
Just pick a simple project and see if you can work through the design in Easel and then work up to more complicated things.
Easel is a good general purpose program. Once you are familiar with what it can do then you might look at some of the more specialized software options with a better understanding of what you might like to have.
1 Like
Thanks @RobertCanning, @LarryM, I appreciate the advice. I will check out Easel and see what I can do with it.
You can also pickup a demo copy of Vcarve Desktop/Pro and see what they offer.
Easel will take you far and it’s for a beginner. You will know when you outgrow it. Production software are going to throw bells and whistles at you, because you pay for that privilege.
Some of my biggest hangups are/were getting the machine tuned and feedrates. It seems more art than science. But it’s coming along nicely.
(First year x-carve user)
As a new user, and completely new to CAD/CAM I have a few questions based on my first impression of easel.
-
if i choose a project that someone has posted on there, for say, a simple box, how do I change the overall outer dimensions of the finished box, without needing to edit the dimensions of every piece (5 sides, an open box) ?
-
when I drag a line, why does it not offer a snap to the other lines ?
My first desired design is a simple plywood open box. I usually brad nail the edges of these box, but want to design and cut a jointed box of 150mm x 150mm x 50mm
I am sure its not too difficult, but i am a complete noob, and need to find my way in.
drag your mouse around the part(s). A window opens up labeled “Shape” with the size denoted. You can enter a number or drag it bigger or smaller.
Thank you. Thats great.
I also found the app that allows you to design a box. It automatically adds dogbones. It doesn’t appear, at first glance to allow you to specify the number/frequency of dogbones.
There is probably a way to snap to the edges of my board. Also to snap each piece next to its neighbouring piece so you cut once where the lines touch. Or maybe theres a reason you shouldnt do that.
Positioning pieces seems to be a free floating affair.
I might need to use a CAD program and import my designs from there.