Hi everyone, i am very much a newbie to the cnc world. i have my 3040, am about to purchase mach 3 and need advise on which software (hopefully free) for creating 3d images is the best please.

Many Thanks
Dale

Hi,
Fusion 360, made by Autodesk, the same company that makes AutoCAD, Inventor and HSMWorks, has made a splash
because its free to hobbyists. It is by no means the only CAD/CAM program around but it is a good one.

Often you have a very simple job for which you don't require CAD/CAM, maybe cut a rectangular slot, drill a bolt pattern
and face the material. NFS MillWizard ($75) is good for chaining simple operations together. It gives what amounts to
'conversational programming' to Mach. I use it a lot.

Craig

Thanks Craig

"3d IMAGE"  is most likely the wrong terminology. Images are not 3D.
Can you post an example pic of what you want to do? I suspect Fusion 360 would not be the best option.

This eventually

That's just a 2D image? What do you want the finished project to look like?
You'd likely want to use something like Aspire to create a 3D model of that. Be aware it will take a lot of skill, practice, or both.

Thanks

Vectric Aspire is what I use. Pretty simple, great tutorials, good support(overseas). I am 1 year new to this and feeling very comfortable with the software and creating 3D finished products from 2D vectors and images. A little late on this but my .02 in case it helps someone else.