Ordered the S5 Pro last month, still waiting on it to ship. In the interim, I’m trying to learn as much as I can in Fusion 360. I will be building guitars, and ultimately, I’d like to model the guitar thoroughly in F360, and develop a workflow that leverages the machine heavily to get me as close to a finished product as possible. I basically want to cut tabs, do a little sanding, apply a finish, and assemble.
That said, I’ve got a huge learning curve ahead of me, from the modeling to the CAM, to optimizing feeds and speeds. In the interim, I was wondering if it would be worthwhile for me to get a year of CC Pro. I know out of the box I can use the free version to cut out templates, do pocketing operations, etc…I could definitely improve my efficiency overall with minimal ramp-up.
But ultimately, I am going to want to generate 3d toolpaths, and I know I’ll need CC Pro for that. Should I bother upgrading, or should I just focus on getting up to speed on F360’s CAM?
Does CC Pro do anything that F360 doesn’t? Is there any reason I’d want both?
The CAM in Fusion360 can be very overwhelming at first. It expects you to know many advanced CAM topics. CC Free is fairly basic and a good starting off point. CC Pro is a step up from that but still not on the level of Fusion360. I would recommend starting with CC Free, buying Pro, then moving to Fusion 360 as you get more comfortable.
Oh and do your 3D modeling in Fusion 360 from the beginning.
Carbide Create Pro’s 3D modeling is focused on decorative design — folks use it w/ a reasonable precision and for mechanical CAD such as guitars — its strong-suit here is V carving and getting that integrated onto flat surfaces (or simulating V carving with 3D modeling so that it can be cut with a 3D toolpath).
There is a time-limited trial option which should give you a good idea of its capabilities and how they suit how you wish to approach things.
Hi Juliet
Just like you, I was overwhelmed with what software to use for designing, and after a lot of research on different application i chose Vcarve pro from Vectric. the software is user friendly and you can download a trial version to test it out before purchasing. I am just expanding my knowledge of the software and adding different add on tools (laser engraving) to my software that will allow me to expand what i can do while using a hybrid design. Its not cheap but please check it out, it may be suited for you in your passion to build guitars. Let me know how you get on.
Shaun.
Thanks for the recommendation! I have looked into that software briefly, but will give it another look. I know ultimately I’m gonna end up in F360, because I’ve got ambitions to do some really involved and sophisticated stuff with my machine, but I am definitely interested in exploring a middle ground between here and there.
Don’t waste your money buying a bunch of programs you may not really need. The free versions of CC are fine. The paid versions will not give you much more freedom of work as you think. I’m not saying CC Pro is trash because it is helpful if you are on a tight budget, but using it as a main program will not help you as much as you might like. Plus, if you are going to purchase CC Pro for a year, you might as well get the perpetual license, this way you can keep the program for good.
If you are already proficient in F360, then stay there. Have you noticed that there are not that many real videos of CC Pro programming and examples of work from that program? There is a reason this is. I have been digging and digging trying to find more information on the CC Pro for me to better understand how to use it and now I feel I have wasted my $300 on a program that doesn’t do much more then mainly sign carvings.
I don’t think CC Pro can produce 3D designing. It can only import 3D designs made from other programs and then given tool paths. I could be wrong, but from what I have gathered is, any of your CAD programs that can design what you want, can be used with Carbide Motion that runs, or will run your machine. So, think long and hard before just throwing money around into a bunch of programs that may not even do what you like or need.
I was thinking about buying the Vectrics Aspirin because it can do 3D designing. I would do F360 but I can’t afford that expensive license at this time. So, my limited amount of knowledge about other programs is frustrating for me as well and one day I might just be able to start creating the things I would like to create on my S5 Pro. I have had mine for 2 months now and still not really running it for anything substantial.
I have ran and programmed CNC Fanuc controlled Mills and Lathes for 13 years, and have made some pretty fascinating parts throughout my life. My S5 Pro frustrates me because CC Pro doesn’t do anything that I expected it to do. Yes, I can vcarve me a pretty sign, but to really design 3D models of things that I wanted the programming for, I just don’t think CC Pro has what it takes. Now, I’m not saying not to use CC Pro. It is a good program for beginners that want to do easy carving, but for the heavy designing, it falls a bit short in my opinion.
Attached is one of my carvings that I made on my S5 Pro though.
That’s really good to know. I’m not remotely proficient in F360, but that’s the goal. I am currently using the free version. If I start using it to make money, I’ll pay for it…but for now, the free version is fine. It’s definitely pricey, but the end-to-end capability of modeling and CAM in one tool is really appealing to me.
I might stick w/ the free version of CC and just accept that I won’t be doing much/any 3d carving until I learn how to do it in F360. There are still a lot of operations to facilitate guitar building that can be programmed in 2d.
Hi Juliet!
I would take a hard look at the videos located Here, I think they’re pretty well done and definitely will give you a feeling for the capabilities of Pro beyond etching. The ones on 3D tools will be the most interesting for modeling.
You didn’t really explain your prior experience, so please accept my perspective (that of a hobbyist who spent about a year with each of CC then CC Pro) for what it is worth…
The terms 2D, 3D, 4D and 2.5D have confused meanings in the worlds of CNC and “3D” printing. The problem is that today’s CAD software must work with computer displays that are patently 2D and CAM software has to live with the limitations of physical manufacturing devices. I believe CC is great for carving things that conceptually close to 2D - things like V carving, pocketing, and etching. The CC tools are intuitive and relatively complete for 2D. CC also works well for layering 2D structures horizontally. For example, CC works well for creating stair steps, but not inclined ramps.
I have experimented briefly with other more sophisticated 3D modeling tools - enough to know how they work, but not enough to become proficient. They all boil down to manipulating 3D meshes of one form or another. I find such 3D design to be mentally challenging with complex user interfaces and long learning curves. CC Pro is quite unique in the way it models by layering shapes on shapes. Clearly, this is considerably more restrictive than a program like Fusion, but it is considerably easies to learn and less expensive. That said, I have been truly impressed with how well the CC Pro approach agrees with machines that carve vertically, and I’ve found that it works well for a surprising amount of what folks like to characterize as 3D. For me, CC Pro is worth the investment, and I’ve used it to carve many things beyond the capabilities of CC. However, while CC is a good way to learn about 2D, CC Pro is probably not useful as a stepping stone to Fusion, V Carve, Carveco, or similar.
I think I’m going to go ahead and dive headfirst into F360…as it’s ultimately where I need to be, and the desire to use my new machine to its fullest will help drive me towards proficiency.
CC Pro sounds like it would not really get me closer to where I want to be as a designer, and my time would be better spent learning the more sophisticated tools I want to use, than learning how to make something less capable (and admittedly, cheaper) do something it was never meant to.
Griff
(Well crap, my hypometric precursor device is blown…)
14
<3 Awesome! I actually used Midjourney to generate several new bodyshapes that I like quite a bit, so I’m looking forward to making something really unique that doesn’t currently exist in the world.
Hi,
I recently bought Shapoko pro with a goal of making guitar bodies. I too am new and trying to figure out what software to use. I built a few Gibson Les Pauls, carved body by hand. I have the full scale blueprints with all measurements, i want to figure out how to get into software to make tool paths. What software, and what method to get a model to build tool paths. Im a beginner and mastered CC. I looked at F360 free version by opened it up and was lost.
Any suggestions on software and getting Les Paul body into software?
I just upgraded from CC to CCPro. I haven’t started doing 3D yet but Pro has many additional feature that have simplified my life. FYI, I am paying $10 per month and can cancel at anytime.
