Yes, the dreaded word “Software” what do I buy and what can I get (legitimately) for free. Some of these you will *need and some are useful to have, others are interesting and a few are simply pointless (depending on what you do)
A few things to consider are of the following.
- Code Editors
- DNC Link programs (to send programs to your machine)
- CAD Programs (2d and 3d depending)
- Post Processors (to turn drawings into programs automatically)
Code Editors: These are very basic in essence and all you really need is something like Windows “Notepad” but some of the dedicated code editors will also do things like display toolpaths and *simulate the program running. In general I’m of the school that thinks KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) as more unused features tend to mean more unexpected screwups.
DNC Links: These are what sends your program from a PC / MAC to the CNC controller and is used to save programs back to the PC / MAC if you want to use it again in future. Essential to have some DNC function if you want to offline code (on a PC etc instead of on the machines keypad interface) Online coding is quite easy but to be fair, after standing for an hour typing in a screen that is facing me with my arm at shoulder height my arm aches, a desk with a PC is far easier.
CAD Programs: Here’s where I start upsetting people again. Two main types of CAD available, either 2 dimensional or 3 dimensional. These are used to design work, create drawings, create 3d models of what you wish to make and even to calculate intersection points or stuff like arc start finish points (if you don’t want to *math it out)
Post Processors (PP’s): So you have a 3d model and you have a DNC link to send a program to your machine, what you don’t have is a program that makes what you have just drawn. This is what PP’s are for, they turn CAD drawings into working programs with each machine type having it’s own PP. You can write your own but it can be long winded and easy to screw up so getting one from your CAD supplier is very often easier.
Have a look through the sub menu’s to see what you may like trying out.