I use SketchUp Pro and Vcarve Pro. Tried Fusion for a while and just couldnāt get the hang of it. I watched countless YouTube videos and tried to replicate what I was doing in SketchUp to compare. I might give Fusion another shot but really canāt justify it when I can do whatever I need in SketchUp. I have 3d printers too and it is very easy to export the stl files and load them into the slicer. There are a million other options. Just as an FYI to folks, if you happen to be a student or have a student in the house, take a look at the pricing they can get. It is great for them to learn the software and maybe they will let you use it. ![]()
About 5 months ago I purchased a 3d printer on a whim. While waiting for it to arrive, I researched CAD softwareāsomething I knew absolutely nothing about. I ended up choosing Fusion because it was free, supposedly powerful, and had a large pool of YT tutorials (and AI) to help with the steep learning curve. I quickly found Fusion addictive, and very, very frustrating. I had days when I got hung-up for hours trying to figure out why one sketch line wouldnāt constrain with another. But, when thereās a will, thereās a way. Put over 500 hours on my 3d printer in less than 2 months. One day while researching a project, I inadvertently clicked on a YT video showing someone using Fusion as part of their process to carve a guitar on their CNC. A huge lightbulb turned on. Long story short, Iām now modeling my dream guitar in Fusion and carving proto-types out of cheap lumber on my Altmill. Probably a month away from carving a top out of a huge slab of curly maple Iāve been saving for 20-25 years. Bitinā at the bit (pun intended) to get started sooner, but Iāve found the CAM process almost as daunting as the CAD. Been an absolutely crazy 5 monthsābut, Iām lovinā every minute of it!
MillMage Pro is now generally available - if you have any questions, myself and the Support team are happy to assist.
Hereās our video/docs on Relief Carving: 3D Relief Carving - MillMage Documentation
And V-carving
We have a couple Altmills in-house (3 as of writing) including the one here at my shop with an ATC. Happy to send over a bundle if it helps get you set up faster!