bad-machinist
Plastic
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2021
We are a small company (director and 1 employee) and need a CAD-CAM solution. Recently we acquired a 2nd hand 3 axis CNC milling from 2005 that has Heidenhaim TNC 530i control.
We are looking for a good CAD and CAM software. Of course budget is also important for us as we are a small company, but we do not want to cheap out that the software becomes an issue. Preferably, we get a 2 in 1 solution to avoid issues with compatibility and dimension changes etc...
What we do is custom jobs mostly. We plan to design in CAD and then use the CAM to send them to our CNC. We do not require turning CAM. Also, most of our parts are not very complex, but the assemblies can be complex with several parts, and parts from our suppliers.
We were looking at Fusion 360, Inventor and Solidworks. But without having too much experience with each (We have previous experience with Autodesk product, including AutoCAD, from previous jobs but only using CAD) we are not sure what would be the best solution for our needs. What would you recommend?
We are looking for a good CAD and CAM software. Of course budget is also important for us as we are a small company, but we do not want to cheap out that the software becomes an issue. Preferably, we get a 2 in 1 solution to avoid issues with compatibility and dimension changes etc...
What we do is custom jobs mostly. We plan to design in CAD and then use the CAM to send them to our CNC. We do not require turning CAM. Also, most of our parts are not very complex, but the assemblies can be complex with several parts, and parts from our suppliers.
We were looking at Fusion 360, Inventor and Solidworks. But without having too much experience with each (We have previous experience with Autodesk product, including AutoCAD, from previous jobs but only using CAD) we are not sure what would be the best solution for our needs. What would you recommend?