Denford Software & Machines

Hi I'm new to cnc machining and I have recently just bought a denford novamill which I will get at the end of the month, I currently do my drawings on autocad lt but I was wondering what cam software I would need and also any other software I would need as I don't really fully understand how it all works, I'm going to be making all different 1:14 scale excavator and truck model parts mostly in 2d but I would also like to try 3d parts once I get my head around it, so basically I'm asking what all will I need to go from the drawin/design stage to the completed model part stage, and also what autocad would u rate as the best for this job,?

Many thanks
Any help would be greatly appreciated

Steve

I've moved this to the Other CAD/CAM section.
http://denfordata.com/bb/viewforum.php?f=60

There are a few popular bits of CAD/CAM software mentioned in this section but most of us don't have much experience of them. I was hoping Denford users could share their thoughts. We pretty much deal with Solidworks and our own range of CAD/CAM products.
Do you know what software is coming with the Novamill ? it may include some 2D or 3D CAD/CAM

Hi thanks for that, I'm not too sure what software is coming with it, he did say there was a few bits and pieces with it, but all my drawings are on autocad lt 2013 and I was worried that they wouldn't be compatible with the novamill,? I'm just starting with cnc machines so I'm unsure of what software u all need to be honest to go from design to manufacture and what's involved,?

Thanks
Steve

Importing dxf or dwg drawings from CAD never works perfectly...CAM software doesn't know or care about construction lines, dimension lines and will struggle to machine around a part effectively unless it is drawn with machining in mind (eg, a hexagon shape could be made up of 6 individual lines which may not be joined at the ends...depending how it was drawn / trimmed)
It's much better to get a CAD+CAM package which lets you draw shapes with machining in mind...it will do things like joining up line end points and give you control over things like toolpath direction - CW or CCW
Most of these kind of CAM system will allow you to import a .dxf from any other CAD software but you're best preparing the drawing first (remove borders, dimension layers etc...)
Note that the .dxf format does not store units - the are simply numbers which could be mm, feet, miles, yards, KM's... most CAM software will expect the units to mean mm or inches

Hi
Here are my thoughts......

I use solidworks to create the 3d parts then I Import the model into delcam mill to produce the tool paths, with delcam I had to modify the post processor (the program that produces the G code) then into mach3 on the machine. Then if all goes well the part comes out!!
A very brief overview if you need any more info let me know