Dave,
I do not have much to say about the CarveWright. It does not do the kind of work I wanted it to do. I found I needed more detail, smaller sized wood and finer resolution than it could do. That's why I am experimenting with 3D on the laser. I will probably get rid of it sometime soon. As far as the designs go, I was able to do the same types of drawings I do in Corel or PhotoShop, but it's a lot harder with their tools. Graphics knowledge is a must either way. You can buy a 3D scanner, which is expensive, and it allows you to scan an object (if you have a prototype) and replicate it. Not what I wanted.
You should talk with Al Ursich - he's got a lot of experience with the CarveWright.
cheers, dee