Artcam or Meshcam?

[Sterling Wong]

Hi I have a probotix Meteor machine

Right now I am looking for a software to run with the machine. I need a software that can generate G-codes with easy to use interface.
Budget is up to 500$

Being able to generate 3d carving from raster images would be nice.

At the probotix website they have artcam express suggested. Is it worth getting the express version or the pro/normal?
I have heard of similar programs going up to a couple of thousand dollars, and want to know what is the difference versus the few hundred dollar softwares

Any suggestions and feedback would be great.

[Sterling Wong]

Also wanted to add I would like a software which has a good reputation / popular among users in the industry and have great support / tutorials

Thanks !

[Jerome Stanek]

download some of the Vectric software and see how you like it. They have a very large following and a very good forum

[Jim Underwood]

I have access to a copy of ArtCAM Pro at work. I really like it. It's expensive but can do just about anything. Approx. $10K per seat, plus training. Exrpess is probably quite a bit less expensive, but I don't think it will make reliefs.

For the money, I would personally buy Vectric's Aspire, for a fraction of the price, and it will do nearly everything ArtCAM will do for around $2K per seat.

Have no experience with Meshcam.

For $500? I have no idea what you could get.

There is a guy who is giving away a couple of copies of some relief software on the freebies forum. You might just have time to enter the giveaway...

[Jim Underwood]

Here's the link to the giveaway:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?207114-FreeStuff-Drawing-diyCAM-Carve-Software

Go do it right NOW because the drawing is TODAY!

[Sterling Wong]

Hehe looks like I'm too late, not able to reply post in that page

I was aware of Vectrix
On the Probotix page they suggested Artcam express for 149$ and meshcam I think it goes for around 200$
So I thought there would be others in that price range.

[Dan Hintz]

Hehe looks like I'm too late, not able to reply post in that page

You must be a Contributor to post there...

[Art Mann]

Like the original poster, I am looking for the right product or combination of products to accomplish what I want. I have downloaded the trial version of Vcarve Pro. I think their on line tutorials are outstanding and the product seems to be very powerful and easy to use. Vcarve Pro won't create or edit true 3-D images but it will import them from other programs. I haven't acquired a machine yet but Vectric software is definitely a top contender. Aspire is advertised to do everything I want to do but the price is a mighty big pill to swallow. Meshcam and Meshcam Art are also available as free trials and I plan to download and evaluate those before making a final decision. If you go to the Artcam website, they also offer to let you download Artcam Express but when you actually download it, you will find that it is the more expensive Artcam Insignia product. I emailed the company and apparently they no longer support a free download of their least expensive product.

[Jim Underwood]

If you think Vectric is pricey, then don't even look at ArtCAM....

[Jim Underwood]

Matt,
If I had something besides a CarveWright at home, I would have registered for that giveaway. And since I have a copy of ArtCAM at work, I didn't see any need for me to register...

Unless you know something I don't about the CW?

[Matt Mitman]

I've not used a Carvewright so don't know the specifics of what it wants for input data, but assuming its not just pure GCode, if someone can point me to a guide on how to format code for it I have no objections to adding export support for it to Carve. I seem to remember hearing it mostly works off the rasterized heightmap concept with its own software though, so don't know how much benefit my software would be over that, but it should be a matter of minutes for me to add support once I know what needs changed, so might as well support it.

[Jim Underwood]

I'm not at all sure how it works. It certainly doesn't run off G-Code... At least not like our KOMO where you output the G-code via post to the Fanuc controller.

You download the project from their proprietary software to their proprietary memory card, then plug it into the proprietary machine and run it. Not much flexibility there. CarveWright has painted themselves into a corner from what I can tell.

[Keith Outten]

Vectric software is very popular here and there is a reason. FWIW you can purchase VCarve Pro and later upgrade to Aspire at a discount.

[AL Ursich]

I'm not at all sure how it works. It certainly doesn't run off G-Code... At least not like our KOMO where you output the G-code via post to the Fanuc controller.

You download the project from their proprietary software to their proprietary memory card, then plug it into the proprietary machine and run it. Not much flexibility there. CarveWright has painted themselves into a corner from what I can tell.

I am not a software expert but LHR has started a new fork in the road with the Designer software with the 2. Series. I believe the thinking is more flexability.... I have not purchased that version yet.

I DID WIN a diyCAM Drawing for a License yesterday.... THANK YOU !!!! Have not had a chance to load it yet. Looks interesting.

Artcam and Meshcam are way above my pay grade at the moment.

AL

[Rob Feldner]

I use ArtCAM Pro at work as well, and second what Jim said. It's great, but it is pricey. Having said that, you can download demo versions of Insignia and Express from the ArtCAM website. With Express you can purchase modules for various purposes (nesting, font creators, etc.) which may let you get the features you need without shelling out too much cash.
My advice would be to try out the demo software that some of the vendors have available and see what fits for you.
Also, you might want to find people with the same machine(s) that you will be using and see what works for them.

[Jim Dawson]

Try looking at Enroute Pro also... we love it.