Different Software on the Shapeoko 3

[RussellF (Russell Francis)]

Dear members of the Carbide 3D community,

Good Morning. I was wondering if I could use the Easel software on my Shapeoko 3? If so how do I make the change? Have a great rest of your day.

Sincerely, Russell Francis

[WillAdams (William Adams (Carbide 3D))]

Yes, you can use Easel (or pretty much any CAD/CAM software) — just write out G-Code, and use CM to send it.

It used to be that you could use Easel for Communication/Control — if that’s still an option, don’t overwrite the Grbl configuration — if that should happen, resend per:

Setting Grbl Configuration in CM 517 and later

Carbide Motion 517 uses a new system for setting Travel Dimensions which is potentially confusing: [image] Pressing the Load Defaults button takes one to a window which allows one to select first machine size: [image] and then Z-axis type: [image] after which selection the Travel Dimensions for the selections made are entered into the dialog and will be preserved if one clicks “Ok” (and of course that change discarded if one selects “Cancel”). In addition there is a “Send Configuration Da…

[RussellF (Russell Francis)]

Thank you for the information. I don’t know how to do that but I think I will stick with Carbide Create for now. I am relatively new to the CAD and CAM part of CNC. Is there a way I could learn all these techniques online?

[WillAdams (William Adams (Carbide 3D))]

I’m afraid I was never successful with Easel, even though I had an early prelaunch invite.

We have documentation for our software at:

Tutorials

[RussellF (Russell Francis)]

Easel is definitely a difficult software. Thank you for your help.

Sincerely, Russell Francis

[Radiation (Josh)]

Carbide create video series breakdown:

[baaja (F B)]

I think this is really a preference. I do all my 2d design in either autocad or easel. I couldn’t get the hang of carbide create.

I find easel significantly easier for quick jobs. The only thing I wish it had was support for more than (2) tools.

[NewToThis (Peter)]

For me, I use what comes with the CNC! I’ve got a Shapeoko, so it’s CC and CM - and I’ll learn as much as I can using it!

Either not doing what I want or need more complexity (not happening just yet! )? I’ll move on to something else!

As my skills evolve - and it’s not a quick process! - so will my ambitions!

[neilferreri (Neil Ferreri Ω)]

@RussellF Easel is about as simple as it gets when it comes to generating basic toolpaths. Do NOT use Easel to control your machine as you may overwrite settings. There’s nothing wrong with generating gcode in Easel, exporting, and running with Motion (or something else). You don’t have much control over toolpaths, but if you’re starting from scratch, it’s a great, simple tool.
I would not recommend it for design, but you can import svg or dxf.