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Swarfing:
For a real debate on this we really need Richard to let us know what he needs the CAD for? I personally only use free stuff being a Linux user and CNCer. My choices are Alibre CAD and Draftsight, These are way quicker to use for toolpaths as you get no bloat in the code once picked up by my CAM package. If i really do need 3D then i use FreeCad. This has nothing to do with not paying for it as i could get pro software and pay for it. Problem with this is i get no benefit from doing so and the bells and whistles just would not get used.

I'm in Johns camp on this one, whats the point in taking your Ferrari to the shops 2 mins away when your bike is good enough at no cost? Unless you just want to show off of course and not bother using all that power and extra gears, fuel etc doing the same thing?

tom osselton:
I took a day course at protospace offering solidworks basics and they said it will probably change to the fusion 360 as they are made by the same people and uses the same (free) cam program that they use for their tormach mill.

richard westerfield:
what I need the software for Is the end plates on a fly reel I have to make them in the style of an old von hoffe post reel . theses of you who  know fly reels will know what I am talking .I have to make hole from the top 3/8 of an inch from zero degrees on the left and 3/8 on the right of zero degrees then I have drill holes at 45- 80-160 degrees how do I figure out the  degree placement of the hole on the software how do I unplay it to the drawing of a circle  I want to thank everyone who has helped me so far. I think will help me and once i get over this I will be on my way .I think I will be going for turbo cad
I hope I make some sense of what I am talking about
thank you
Richard Westerfield
 

vtsteam:
Richard, do you want to produce G-code from this for a CNC machine, or do you want a drawing out of it?

Each CAD will do things in a somewhat different way, so it's pretty difficult to explain how to do your reel drawing (or code).

In general you draw things onscreen, like circles for holes or the reel face, using iconized tools for that purpose. You usually specify, when doing that, the size of the circle and the placement (your 3/8" from some point for instance). You can move them around and resize them. To find the angular position in degrees, you generally can query the object's properties from some point and line, or use a protractor tool (in SketchUP), or draw auto dimension lines specifying degrees for the text, or use some other method that the CAD supports.

Output in CAD programs is usually files or printed drawings, and in CAM programs is in G-code. Some CAD programs can do G-code as well, either natively, or with a plugin.

That's all a simplification -- apologies if you already know all that.  :beer:

ps if you only want to find the angular locations for some holes on your project, and don't need g-code, and don't yet know CAD, you can probably get it pretty quickly and easily if you just draw it out full scale by hand, and measure the angles with a protractor. Sorry again if I'm talking down to you on the subject!

richard westerfield:
more then likely I  will draw them than  import them to  cut 2 than to a cam software as you can tell I am not to good with cad getting around in it . but I am all right with cut 2 what I am going to do is draw it out put it on to a file them transfer  it to cut 2 make tool paths then on to a cam software that should do it hope it works out
thank you
Richard

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