4 ms·

Alibre (1) seems pretty popular with makers (good cnc support?). Not OSS but its a one time $200 purchase - sorta surprising you can still buy software these da

Alibre (1) seems pretty popular with makers (good cnc support?). Not OSS but its a one time $200 purchase - sorta surprising you can still buy software these days :-P Alibre is more of a professional tool like Fusion 360, so there is some learning curve. 1. https://www.alibre.com/ https://www.alibre.com/

WillAdams 2y ago
Their Workshop CAM module is a re-badged MeshCAM v9 as of current versions. There is also a higher-end option I believe, but it's way out of my price range.
- mech422 2y ago
  I did the free trial and it seemed ok - but I had too many bad habits from fusion...one thing that always tripped me up was the limit of 1 sketch per 'part'(?). It seemed to enforce 'best practices' much more then Fusion does, and I just tinker with hobby projects. They were very attentive though, and even called a few times to see how I was doing... Also, I really liked the 1 time purchase vs. subscription
hahamrfunnyguy 2y ago
I second Alibre, I am using the pro version. I bought it in 2012, and I can't remember if I've paid for upgrades to keep it current since then. I used it to design an injection mold and I am still using it for 3d printing projects. It's a capable program and on-par with SolidWorks or Inventor for basic modeling. I haven't tried OnShape yet, but if I didn't have Alibre I'd probably look into that or another web-based program for new hobby projects. I like the idea of perpetual licenses but it's only perpetual for as long as it runs on your operating system.
- mech422 2y ago
  I just can't get into the web based ones...I don't know why but they all seem slow and clunky to me. One thing I didn't like about alibre is the lack of Linux (or Mac) version, as I plan on ditching MS once my win10 box is unusable - I have no interest in that new AI crap MS is adding.

4 ms·

Alibre (1) seems pretty popular with makers (good cnc support?). Not OSS but its a one time $200 purchase - sorta surprising you can still buy software these da

by mech422 2y ago

WillAdams 2y ago
Their Workshop CAM module is a re-badged MeshCAM v9 as of current versions. There is also a higher-end option I believe, but it's way out of my price range.
- mech422 2y ago
  I did the free trial and it seemed ok - but I had too many bad habits from fusion...one thing that always tripped me up was the limit of 1 sketch per 'part'(?). It seemed to enforce 'best practices' much more then Fusion does, and I just tinker with hobby projects. They were very attentive though, and even called a few times to see how I was doing... Also, I really liked the 1 time purchase vs. subscription
hahamrfunnyguy 2y ago
I second Alibre, I am using the pro version. I bought it in 2012, and I can't remember if I've paid for upgrades to keep it current since then. I used it to design an injection mold and I am still using it for 3d printing projects. It's a capable program and on-par with SolidWorks or Inventor for basic modeling. I haven't tried OnShape yet, but if I didn't have Alibre I'd probably look into that or another web-based program for new hobby projects. I like the idea of perpetual licenses but it's only perpetual for as long as it runs on your operating system.
- mech422 2y ago
  I just can't get into the web based ones...I don't know why but they all seem slow and clunky to me. One thing I didn't like about alibre is the lack of Linux (or Mac) version, as I plan on ditching MS once my win10 box is unusable - I have no interest in that new AI crap MS is adding.