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CAM (G code generation) programs

ryannining edited this page Feb 13, 2020 · 23 revisions

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Name Free (yes/no): Website: Notes:
DXF2GCODE Yes https://sourceforge.net/projects/dxf2gcode/ Simple program to convert DXF shapes to G-Code paths. Runs on your PC.
MakerCAM Yes www.makercam.com No longer a good place to start. Somewhat infuriating. Uses Flash so support in all browsers is rapidly drying up (or already gone) and Adobe will formally withdraw Flash in 2020.
JScut Yes www.jscut.org Slightly more advanced than MakerCAM
Heeks CAD No https://sites.google.com/site/heekscad/ Slightly more advanced than JScut, offline
Fusion 360 Yes How to get a Fusion 360 School/Enthusiast license MaslowCNC Post processor download here Compatible with Windows and Mac. Proprietary licence, but free for educational or hobbyist use. Requires internet connection, Cloud based, but allows file export.
PyCAM Yes http://pycam.sourceforge.net Was cross platform, but now Linux only. Reasonably powerful but simple. Works well with .svg files from Inkscape.
Easel Yes http://easel.inventables.com/ Cross platform web based CAM from SVG imports. Large community of users for help
VCarve / Aspire No http://www.vectric.com/products/compare.html Success using "Intelicam GCode" as the post processor. More experimenting needed testing GRBL options
LaserWeb Yes https://laserweb.github.io/LaserWeb4/dist/ Online or offline, Windows, Linux, Mac. Opens .DXF and .SVG files
FreeCAD Yes https://www.freecadweb.org/ Offline CAD/CAM, Windows, Linux, Mac. Under Development, so expect bugs. Forum friendly and helpful
BlenderCAM Yes http://blendercam.blogspot.cz/ Cross-platform, powerful, but development seems dormant.
KaryaCNC Yes https://github.com/ryannining/karyacnc Cross-platform, Tight integrated with inkscape, color code path operation (Cut, Pocket, Engraving, Vcarving) support CNC router, Laser