It depends on what you are looking for and what is important to you. I have been using Vectric V-Carve Desktop/Pro since first purchasing the SO3 - very early serial number, two digits. You can do quite a bit in V-Carve Desktop and if you want to upgrade later to Pro or Aspire, you only pay the difference. Also, if there is an upgrade within a year of when you purchase your license, you will receive the upgrade for free. For example, the current version is 10.5xx, typical major updates release each fall, so if you purchase now, you would qualify for the version 11 if it is released within a year, and previously if you had the major release such as v9.0x or v10.0x, then you would receive the interim v x.5 free also.
Fusion 360 has its place and some advantages, but for woodworking and metal milling I find VCP meets my needs for >95% of what I do. If I need to do work in another program which VCP won’t handle, I can do it in F360, Solidworks, Sketchup, etc. and import it to VCP for the macining.
I tend to steer clear from subscription based programs/pricing. I figure if I am going to spend that much money on software, I should at least own the program and be in control of it, until it’s no longer supported.
I’ll have one more comment (I’m trying to respect that this is a C3D forum). I’ve quickly scanned the Vectric forum database of members since 2005, sorted on user post counts of 10 or greater, and counted 47 pages of 50 users per page (minus 10 users on the last page with a single digit count). The sum is 2,340 users. Just sayin’ that might be significant. Clearly, somebody can operate Vectric’s ancestral “GUI” and produce some purty fine objects like the one included here.
There’s no question that Vectric is popular and that people are able to make stuff with it, the question is whether it’s the best choice right now.
@stevenallison I think these things are really subjective, so your best way forward is to try them for yourself. Fusion 360 is free, CarveCo can be bought for just a month and Vectric has free trials. Come up with a simple project and try to come up with toolpaths in each package and see which one feels better to you.
Personally, I do mechanical 3D stuff so I’ve been mostly using Autodesk products. When I’ve tried Vectric, it’s been… Weird… But it works.
I think jepho sold me on VCarve. Mostly because he said it was archaic and possibly used to build Noah’s ark. Being that I’m not as old as Noah, (but I married his younger sister), I tried out the VCarve software and found it incredibly intuitive for an old guy like me. CC Pro was great for getting me started in the CnC world, but the projects rolling around in my head are getting into the 3D world.
That’s the last time I speak of my positive experience with a product on here. All I needed to do was tell all about the negative experience and how I don’t like something to get the sales commission. I’ll just go back dark.
Here’s a vote for VCarve Desktop. I’ve used Carbide Create Pro (free until recently) and Fusion 360 (dabbling mostly–designed a couple of things).
My vote for VCarve Desktop is because it is designed for the hobby CNC machine first and foremost. And they’ve been doing it a while. It will take you a while to learn all of VCarve’s capabilities, but a lot of it is pretty intuitive, and there’s videos for every function.
Another mark in favor of Vcarve/Vectric is their pricing model–leaving aside for the moment whether the price is too high or not, Vectric does allow you buy in at one level, and simply pay the difference to level up in the future. They do charge for full version upgrades (v9 to v10, you pay, but v10 to 10.5, you don’t), but not exorbitantly. And you don’t have to upgrade if you don’t want.
Carbide Create Pro has some nice features, but it not quite as full featured as VCarve. In time they may close the gap, but now we’re talking about now. If I used my CNC more often (it’s hobby–don’t always get the time I want) I could justify subscription pricing, but the thought of paying for something all the time while using it some of the time rubs me the wrong way. And it’s almost at the same price level as VCarve Desktop.
Fusion is free, and very capable. Probably the most capable of all the options under discussion. Many have mentioned the learning curve, or as I put it, why is it necessary to watch a tutorial video to learn how to do every single thing in Fusion? And again, as a hobbyist, I may come back to Fusion after having been away for a month (on a good month!) to find I have to re-learn it all again.
And there’s a few other things out there you may find yourself toying with from time to time–Inventable’s Easel has some nice widgets to auto-generate patterns and gears and such that I’ve used from time to time, for example. There are others.
Another voice in favour of Vectric’s software. I started with Cut2D, then VCarve and now VCPro. I find the processes of design, whilst drawing and pathing to be effective and intuitive even though there are one or two UI issues I would prefer they improve. Click to select an object, click again to re-size or drag - why can’t this be keyed to a single click? No big deal, but it could be better.
I like the way 2D drafting works, having some background in AutoCAD drafting, and the layers functionality along with double-sided is nice too. Not having the top-of-tree Aspire product, I have to revert to outside software (Solidworks, which I am fortunate to have access to) for 3D creations, although it is surprising what can be created with Rail Sweeps and the like.
The forum is nothing like as active as Carbide’s, but the various questions I have asked have been promptly picked up on and they have their regular ‘gurus’ too. Just not the same sense of ‘community’.
It will very likely come down to what you prefer if you take the trial offers, Carveco is reputedly good too and has a different take on the UI versus Vectric’s.
Faced with the same decision years back I bought Vcarve Desktop and then Pro. Can’t justify Aspire unless I start charging for my pieces. Right now its strictly a hobby for a retired guy.
Fusion is always an alternative and I’ve dabbled, but there are two reasons I don’t rely on it as my primary tool. One is I have been in the commercial software world most of my life and reading the tea leaves (they keep making it harder to keep a free license) I suspect eventually the free option is going to go away. Also Fusion has a very high learning curve and unless I am using it day in/day out I would have to revisit a part of that learning every new/different project. If I was just starting out and wanted to become a professional if might be a good choice because I could use it for commercial work.
For me Vcarve is the ideal hobbyist tool. Fairly easy to use and targeted at the kind of projects you do in the home shop. When I pay my bill I always tell meself (or my wife who actually pays the bills) that I am paying for their great support. They pump out lots of educational stuff, plus they usually answer email questions within hours. For me Vcarve saves me time and reduces my frustration level which are priorities in the retiree woodworking shop. I would love to do more 3D but unless I hit the lottery I am not going to move up to A$pire.
I’ve used most of the other CNC tools and they just didn’t meet my needs. Of the free options Easel is the only one I was impressed with.
I now do a lot of 3D printing in addition to CNC and I wish there was a nice hobbyist tool that did both. TinkerCAD (same origin as Fusion) looks promising but Autodesk is primarily a high-margin software company and investing in cheap/free tools is not in their DNA.
Personal “preference” is the best way for you to proceed if you are able to accomplish what you wish using Carbide Create, and you have the space to grow into those new areas that may interest you, then stay the course. One’s investment in time and effort to learn software is often THE determining factor, UNLESS your current choice no longer meets your needs.
We use vCarve Pro, and are very happy with it. It does everything that we need it to do and as we expand our offerings (as our abilities and knowledge grow) we know that vCarve will have the capability to take us there, It is a steep learning curve, but the rewards are worth it.
There is not a lot of difference between Pro and Desktop versions other that working envelope- desktop limits you to a 24" envelop while Pro has no limits.
I’ve only owned my machine just under a year and half. I purchased vcarve desktop a few months after I purchased my shapeoko. Then upgraded to pro with profits I made with machine. Vcarve software was the best upgrade I made. Easy to learn and does everything I need it to do and more