The best part of owning a CNC machine is that it's like owning a robot that makes whatever you want. (Within reason. We'll get into that later.) The only thing you're limited by is imagination, and when that runs out, there's plenty of inspiration online from other CNC owners.
That's fine and good for advanced users but new users are usually trying to get their head around how they go from the picture in their head to a physical project.
Central to your design process will be your CAD/CAM software. That's actually two different tasks that may or may not be a single piece of software.
CAD Software
Computer Aided Design software, commonly called CAD, is used to create your designs. Depending on what you plan to make, CAD software could be anything from a simple 2D vector editor, like Adobe Illustrator, or a very high-end 3D design program like Solidworks. CAD software varies a lot and each option has its purpose and place in your virtual toolbox.
CAM Software
Computer Aided Manufacturing software, commonly called CAM software, is used to take your design and turn it into a series of instructions that tell your CNC machine how to cut the design out.
CAM software is as varied as CAD software. Like CAD software, each option has its place.
The output from your CAM software is a file called G-code. From the cheapest homemade machine to million-dollar machining centers, they all take G-code files to tell them how to move.
Carbide Create
We've created our own integrated CAD/CAM software called Carbide Create. It's made for 2D and 2.5D designs and it works with our machines, or anyone else's. We've made Carbide Create free for everyone so you can download it and try it out, even if you're not a Carbide 3D customer.
You can download Carbide Create today and create a few items. You'll even see a full 3D simulation of what the final product will be- all without owning a CNC machine.
Where to start?
So, in theory you have a CNC machine and you have a program like Carbide Create to make your projects in. You've got a few options for how to get started:
Blank Page - Carbide Create is a full 2D vector program so, if you have the talent, you can begin with nothing. You can also begin in another vector editing program, like Inkscape or Adobe Illustrator, and then import the design into Carbide Create to finish.
Carbide 3D Design Elements - We've been building our Design Elements site to give you a library of files to kick off your design. All of the files are free to use in Carbide Create, or any other program that can load SVG files. The files are designed for CNC use, not for printing flyers or newsletters, so you won't have problems importing them.
Buy a Design - From eBay to Etsy to private Facebook groups, there are plenty of places to buy designs to use in your CNC machine. Prices range from a couple of dollars to $20-$40 for high-detail designs that took a lot of skill to create.
Tracing Images - Let's assume that you're a fan of the Los Angeles Chargers (I'm not the only one, am I?) and you'd like to make a sign declaring your status as #1 fan. Carbide Create will let you load an image of the team logo in JPG or PNG format that you download online and trace it into a vector format that can be cut out. No design talent required! We're assuming that you have the express written consent of the NFL if you do this.
CutRocket - We've got our own project sharing site, CutRocket, where users can share complete project designs for Carbide Create for others to download and cut. We hope you'll share your own projects but, even if you don't, there are plenty of projects for you to download and use immediately.
From Design to Cutting
Let's say you have a complete design, either something you bought or made on your own, and you now need to cut it. What does the process look like?
- Load the file in your CAM program (if it's not already there).
- Select each vector or feature and assign a toolpath to it.
- Run a 3D simulation to make sure the finished part will be what you want.
- Save your toolpaths as G-code to run on your machine.
The step that confuses new users the most is step 2 above, assigning toolpaths to features. Conceptually it's a simple concept but if you've never done it before then it's more confusing than it ought to be.
There are a lot of toolpaths out there and each serves a special purpose, depending on the part being cut, and the machine doing the cutting. For most users starting out, there are only a handful of toolpaths you need to know and they're all easy to understand.
Contour Toolpath - The contour toolpath follows a selected vector or line. You can tell your CAM software to cut on the right or left side of the vector to compensate for the size of your cutter. If you want to cut a part out completely, you can define the final cutting depth to the thickness of your material. If you want to create a slot-style feature you can pick a cutting depth that won't go all the way through your material.
Pocket Toolpath - The pocket toolpath removes all of the material inside of the selected vectors. The toolpath will be offset to account for the cutter size so that the final dimensions of your part match the design. Like the contour toolpath, you can define the cutter depth of each pocket.
Engraving - Engraving is a variant of the contour toolapath above. Instead of offsetting the toolpath to account for the cutter diameter, you can instruct your CAM software to cut a shallow pass directly on the selected vector/line with no offset.
V-carve - A V-carve toolpath uses a V-shaped cutter to give you a 3D hand-carved look while still being very fast to cut. This is achieved by changing the cutting depth as the cutter moves along the material based on some very complicated math and algorithms. V-carving is a very popular way to do text engraving and shapes like stars on woodworking projects.
All of the toolpaths above are included in Carbide Create so you can download it to try a few things out with zero commitment.
Advanced workflows
This barely scratches the surface of the many ways to go from idea to part on a CNC machine. If you feel the need to go further, there are plenty of software options that let you create full 3D projects, including our own Carbide Create Pro.
That's for another time because the workflow above is enough to make an unlimited number of projects for yourself, for gifts, or to sell.
Go download Carbide Create and get started!
-Rob Co-Founder, Carbide 3D
P.S. If you've already decided that a CNC machine is right for you, click over to the Carbide 3D store to see what we've got.
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