I just bought a shapeoko 5 pro, I am new to everything in this world and just wanted to know should i dedicate my time to starting with carbide create that came with the machine or should I download a better program to learn on. Thank for any help.
You’ll get different advice here.
What / how much are you planning on making?
Knowing that may give you better answers.
Just starting out I was thinking like wood signs/flags/cutting boards. Things as gifts. I assume I will be at a beginner level and figure it out as I go. Just curious what would be best to do as a starter.
I think it’s probably worth learning the free version of Carbide create. It’s fine software… It’s all I’ve used so far and I don’t feel extremely limited.
Pro version once you want to do 3D. That’s where people will provide other good options for paying software though.
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Definitely best to learn the free version of Carbide Create first.
Once you get some experience designing things to CNC, then you’ll know better what software features/tools you want to be able to utilize in your workflow.
Also, many CAD programs give you a trial period to be able to test/try them out & it’s well worth doing that to figure out what you want/like/need
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I believe it’s best to start with Carbide Create.
I wrote a bit about it at:
Definitely start with the free version of Carbide Create. It will be up to any 2d and 2.5d projects that’s you want to design. Plus Carbide 3D provides great videos that go along with the software to help you get started with the learning process. This is especially valuable since you are new to CNC.
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