This may have been covered before, so I apologize if I’m copying some other thread…
MeshCam is OK, but pretty finicky about using .svg and .dxf files, the kind of files I use in my work. Not my choice.
My question is, does anyone know of a free or cheap program like MeshCam that can handle those files, and produce proper toolpaths for Carbide Motion?
.DXF can be opened by Fusion (and most full featured CAD environments… I tend to use Inventor), which has quite good toolpath generation. Carbide Create will import SVG.
That pretty much describes Carbide Create — did you mean Carbide Create rather than MeshCAM?
Another option for SVGs is MakerCAM.
Usually it’s better to just figure out why the file isn’t importing, fix that, then use Carbide Create.
Do you have an example of a file which poses a problem?
Free, I get…“Cheap” is user relative.
I’ve had excellent results with .dxf imports using Estlcam where Carbide Create pukes. Even with incomplete or broken vectors it has an incredibly easy way to patch these for tool paths.
I think the code set me back $60 US, and you can run a free trial to test drive everything. The CAM file output is usable directly by Carbide Motion.
Fusion 360 is free if you’re a hobbyist or make under $100,000 annually if you’re a business. They are pretty speedy about answering questions posted on their forum. You can insert an svg or dxf file into it.