CAD/CAM Software

As we are the manufacturers of CNC Products we understand the amount of effort that is involved in developing a product to an industry leading level, and keeping it at that level. Because of this we have the philosophy of letting people do what they are best at, let hardware manufacturers build the hardware and the software developers design the CAD/CAM software. By focusing on what we do best, we can give you an unbiased view into what software would work best for your solution. As we work closely with many software manufacturers you can be assured that you are receiving the most up to date information about what is available on the market.

CAD/CAM software is not included in the price. Most users already have their own software that can be used with the machine (esp. signmakers, engravers). Special drivers that support the output of the cutting depth, speeds etc. are available for most signmaking and CAM software products on the market. It is recommended that you continue to work with your current software in order to get a quick start. If your current software is not sufficient you can replace it later on with a more powerful software package that truly fits your needs. It is necessary that you know your primary application in order to select the software package that's best for you. Only CAD users (e.g. AutoCAD) or users of closed signmaking systems need to use additional software as a postprocessor. In this case we recommend EnRoute from ScanVec. It allows you to transfer the data from CAD or signmaking programs and prepare it for the machine (e.g. generate tool path). However, keep in mind, design is not possible with EnRoute.

There are 2 parts to your software solution required for your router, the CAD and the CAM section. CAD stands for Computer Aided Design and the CAM for Computer Aided Manufacturing. The CAD can range from a graphics layout package such as Coreldraw to a 3D design application such as AutoCAD. Each different industry needs its own specific design functions so there isn't one universal design program that will work for everyone, take some time with one of our sales staff to discuss what options would work for you. The CAM portion is typically a toolpathing program, where the drawing from the CAD is brought into the CAM package and toolpathed. Toolpathing consists of defining how each section of the drawing is to be cut by the router, encompassing things such as tool diameter, speed of cut and depth of cut, among others.

If you currently have a piece of software in mind that you would like to run our router with and if it doesn't already ship with support for our router system, and it is able to generate G-Code, it is normally a very small amount of work required to add support for our machine, normally being completed in one or two days.

Not all software is CAD or CAM, many of them integrate both. Normally packages that have CAD in their name, are only for designing and you will need to get a second package for doing the CAM, but if you are looking for a complete solution and don't already have an investment in software, then an integrated package that doesn't require to import data from another package is almost always best, as it minimizes the amount of headaches of moving from one program to another.

Following on the next page is a list of some of the more popular packages of software that our customers are currently using with FlexiCAM routers. Please contact one of our sales team to discuss which would work best for you.