i’m as new as it gets and have not yet got my Longmill, but meanwhile i need to figure out what software is best and easist to work with. I know that what you start with often is easyer that learning new stuff, but anyway.
i have worked with F 360 for a while for designing 3D print, but is the milling part of F360 easyer to use than V-carve, i’m thinking about toolpaths and all that stuff.
sorry if there is some gramma issues i’m from Denmark
Hello and welcome!
If you are already familiar with Fusion 360, I would say it’s probably easier to stick with it, since you’re already familiar with some of the things that make it challenging to use.
With a hobby license, I think there are some limitations - depending what you want to do, those may or may not be a problem. I’m sure someone else can add more detail as well.
hi elbarsal!
Thanks, i look forward to my membership and thinks it’s a great way to share and improve your skills ind the cnc universe. I’m going to buy a lincense and it was with that in mind when I asked, just as it was the same plan with V-carve if that is going to be the choice. But as for right now the obvius choice is F360 allthough i’m running on a free licence with all it’s limitations, and I still have to remember my 3D printer
@conner1964 , F360 and the V-carve products are two different animals. I’ve used both. For most of my CNC stuff I use V-carve Desktop. It’s limited to a smaller work piece size - 24"x24", or something close to that. V-carve Pro removes the size limit. These are limited in their 3d capabilities. To get full capabilities you need Aspire which costs a lot of money, keeping in mind that V-carve Desktop and pro aren’t cheap either.
F360 and V-carve also work differently. In F360 you design a 3 dimensional object and then go into the MFG tab (I think that’s it) and pick tools (i.e. end mills, v-bits, etc.) and the kinds of operations and F360 takes it from there. It defines the depths of cuts from the 3d model.
In V-carve, and other CNC based design software like Carbide Create, for 2D (and maybe 2.5D) you design on a 2D plane, similar to a F360 sketch. Then, when the design is done, you define the tool paths and when you are doing that you have to input the depths of the cuts.
V-carve offerings are probably the most used by folks on this forum, with Easel probably close behind.
If I’m making signs, cribbage boards, etc. I use V-Carve desktop.
I made a lefse stick last year and used F360 because it let me design a 3D part.
Just my 2 cents worth.
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thanks Paullarson
I’ll go with V-carve pro and keep my free hobby version of Fusion 360.
In the end of the year I’m going to close my little one man firm, making decalls, stickers, signs, t-shirt prints, but i’m keeping my licence to Adobe Illustrator, I just love that software.
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@conner1964 yep, two different software animals. Do you want to learn a whole bunch of new stuff switching to new software or stick with what you know? Haven’t used F360 but used Inventor in the past. Different buttons but didn’t like it.
Went from Vectric desktop to aspire and never looked back. You can export stl models as well and slice them in your 3D printer software. Can also export stuff from Illustrator and import it in to either software.