I am wondering about the software. I’m leaning toward Vectric but the base level, but cut 2D seems quite limited for what I anticipate doing with my new machine. I’m particularly interested in evolving to inlays and 2.5D carving. If my understanding is correct I would need VCarve Pro to access these processes directly through software capability. I’m sure there are other methods to doing these but ???
The question really is about the learning curve of Vcarve Pro vs Cut2D and Cut2D Pro. Is Vcarve learning curve substantially steeper than Cut2D or Cut2D Pro?
I use Vectric VCarve but I haven’t used Cut2D so I can’t offer a direct comparison. I can say that compared to other 3D programs that I’ve tried VCarve had an easier learning curve for me. I’ve used Blender with a CNC addon, Fusion 360, FreeCAD to name a few and VCarve was the easiest for me.
I knew the other programs before Vectric so that might have made is easier but trying not to be subjective I still think Vectric is easier. It’s not perfect though. I really wish it had a way to make things parametric and/or constraint based.
FreeCAD is getting better but it still seems pretty limited for v-carving as it only allows v-carving text as far as I can tell. V-carve inlays are my preferred technique for inlays. Fusion 360 can do basically anything but it’s a lot to learn IMHO. Blender even more so because you can do anything from basic modeling to creating a movie with it and it’s not specifically geared towards CNC.
An educated guess would be that VCarve just extends what Cut2D can do. I suspect that the 2D controls are the same and you just have some extra design tools and more toolpath options with VCarve. Also Vectric will let you upgrade for the difference in price. I know they do this with VCarve to VCarve Pro but I’m not positive if you can go from Cut2D to VCarve for the difference in price. Your machine size would also be a factor in whether you need pro or not as VCarve Desktop is limited to 24"x24", I think the same is true with Cut2D. You can tile jobs to get around that but tiling will get old fast if you routinely do large jobs.
I can’t remember the YouTube channel but I’m sure @gwilki can recommend a good channel if your interested in seeing some videos about VCarve. It might help you decide.
EDIT: Pretty sure Mark Lindsay is the one Grant (gwilki) recommends.
@DPofFB As @_Michael said, I always recommend marklindsaycnc on youtube. Also check out the video tutorials and projects put out by Vectric. As @ozguzzi said, Kyle Ely has very good material. Some of it is paid one time, some is paid subscription and some is free. All his youtube stuff is free and very good.
Keep in mind that you can download and try for free any of the vectric products.
Thank you all. I’ve been watching the Vectric tutorials and that has been helpful. I think I will start in the Vectric ecosystem. It seems to be similar to Lightburn.
@DPofFB If you are used to Lightburn, you should check out MillMage. It’s the CNC version of LB, more or less. It was written by the guys who wrote LB.
If you’re actively exploring, in the last month, Open Source CNC has released a tonne of videos on FreeCAD. It’s also clear that FreeCAD CAM is getting a lot of attention this year. The same channel includes several tutorials for BlenderCAM/Fabex.
Thanks gwilki. I have seen a couple of videos about MillMage and it is intriguing but I wonder how much support structure and user experts there will be to help an overwhelmed newbie like me!
@DPofFB That’s hard to tell, since it’s so new. Certainly, the LB side of the house has lots of good documentation and third party support. I use VCarvePro. I’m not promoting MillMage. I only raised it because you mentioned LB. I use LB for some of my laser projects. I don’t find the interface anything like that of VCarvePro. They both do what they do very well though.
Keep in mind that the base Vectric (desktop) has a limited cut area. If you plan on doing anything big you need to tile. Carveco has no such limit in the base product, though it has others and I prefer how Vectric works but they both get you there. Carveco also a subscription product.
Greetings all. As I said in previous post, I’m new to CNC but I’ve got to say that I received my machine today and I’m blown away with what I received. THIS THING (4x4 Altmill) IS NOT A TOY! For anyone looking for a CNC router, you should give the Altmill strong consideration. In my years of woodworking, I have at times, bought cheap tools and generally regretted it. I have only begun assembly of my Altmill but have no regrets with this buy. I may be misquoting the adage but buy once, cry once is a sound philosophy when it comes to tool buying.