Shapeoko 3 XXL Program

1

What is a good program for Shapeoko 3 XXL

2

This depends on what you need to do.

Naturally we advocate for Carbide Create and Carbide Motion when first starting out — but it’s easy to find tasks which the former is too limited for. Some common suggestions:

  • Inkscape — this pairs well with Carbide Create, and is free and opensource
  • various commercial vector editors — Adobe Illustrator is often used, and I can’t give up Macromedia Freehand. Serif’s Affinity Designer is the new kid on the block, and one which I often suggest.
  • DraftSight — hard to beat the value of this free (as in beer) 2D drafting package
  • FreeCAD — the opensource CAD option
  • OpenSCAD — 3D modeling for programmers — I use this, simply because the stuff I do in 3D is usually well-suited for it
  • SolveSpace — 3D parametric modeling — trying to work through the tutorials on this, and hoping it will work for some projects farther down the road (but its needing a mouse is pretty trying to me)
  • Moment of Inspiration — 3D modeling designed for pen tablets — this suits how I prefer to work (on a tablet w/ a stylus), but it’s hard for me to justify that kind of expense on software
  • Vectric — lots of folks doing signage rely on this — for folks billing by the job, it just makes sense
  • Autodesk Fusion 360 — sort of free, quite powerful, licensing must be renewed annually
  • SolidWorks — standard choice in many industries
  • MeshCAM — we bundle this with the Nomad and it’s quite easy to learn.
2 Likes
3

Hello! I’m just getting started out with my S3 as well. Just using CC since it is simple to use and understand. I was very surprised to see SolidWorks on your list. What other software do you need to use to go from a SolidWorks ‘part’ into Gcode ready to be sent to the S3? Note… I am VERY new to using a CnC and the software used (that’s why I only use CC right now), and I just have a basic trial student version of solidworks.

4

It’s my understanding that SolidWorks has CAM modules which are options which may be licensed to use with it (contact your re-seller) — if one doesn’t have that in one’s license, then export an STL and use any of the 3D CAM solutions.

MeshCAM is the prototypical commercial hobbyist option (and what we bundle w/ the Nomad).

Other options are listed at: https://www.shapeoko.com/wiki/index.php/CAM#3D and of course, there are various other commercial options: https://www.shapeoko.com/wiki/index.php/Commercial_Software#3D_CAM

5

Good to know. Thanks for the heads up.