Fusion 360 as a complete option?

X-Carve
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I’m moderately familiar with Fusion 360 from using it to design a few items for 3D printing. And I see it as an option for X-Carve as well. But I’m unclear as to whether it’s a “complete” option. What I’m looking for is… load up a program, design in it, create paths, and send them to the CNC all in one program. Is that possible with Fusion360? Or does it get all the way to the last step and I need something else to send the gcode to the machine?

And in the same vein… Vcarve pro IS a complete solution if I understand it correctly? I love the videos I’ve seen of vcarve, but am having trouble justifying pulling the trigger on 700 dollars for a piece of software. (They should investigate the adobe software as a service option).

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This one.

VTransfer is a small helper application provided by Vectric to simplify the process of sending toolpaths to some grbl-based controllers. You should run VTransfer on the PC to which your CNC machine is connected via a USB serial connection. If your Vectric CADCAM software is also running on the same PC, you can use Direct Output mode to send toolpaths to VTransfer directly, without the need for file saving or loading.

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So basically, if I want an all in one solution (with a little helper app) I need to bite the bullet and buy vcarve pro. This pains my wallet :smiley:

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I feel you :smiley:
I aimed for a one tool solution, too, but ended up using Fusion 360 for designing, toolpaths and chilipeppr for sending, works pretty well.

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I know the desire is for a single tool solution but you can still do a two tool option and remain free.

Easel is quite useful in importing g-code from Fusion. It allows you to somewhat visualize your toolpaths and the walks you through to setup steps prior to cutting such as zeroing and other reminders. I know others think the clicks extra work but has saved my butt numerous times.

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So I can do 2.5D / 3D in fusion and send with easel? I wouldn’t feel too bad doing that if it can.

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Yep I’ve been doing it for about 3 years, works great.

Keep in mind Easel can do some pretty quick and dirty things and F360 is really powerful.

I only recently purchased VCare Desktop for the ability to do tapered inlays and quicker signs. and still use the same workflow as F360.

You just have to consider how complex the project is and select the best tool for the job.

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I use Fusion 360 extensively and have never wanted it to control my machine. I have a decent PC for running my CAD/CAM software, and I use a $50 Windows tablet to control the machine. I don’t want to do design work in my garage. I think Easel tries to do too much in being an all-in-one, but I think they do a better job than Vectric. V-Transfer leaves much to be desired. Try CNCjs…you’ll see what a dedicated sender should look like.

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