emachine shop stopped DXF export what software

[minimivic]

I have been using emachine shop to do simple drawings and export to DXF. I like the simplicity it offered.

They did an update and now you cannot use it to export to a DXF so its now useless to me.

What software would be recommended for a novice user with basic Cad skills.

I have Solid edge 2d installed but it seems very complex in comparison.

Any help appreciated.

[dave.h]

It depends on your budget. You really can't beat Vectric software for this stuff. Corel Drawl is great. Adobe Illustrator is great. A lot of people like InkScape (free).

[plasmanewbie]

I'm a Corel Draw guy. Despise the company but love the software. Give their free 30 trial a go and just ask if you get stumped. Pretty easy once you get onto it.

[robertspark]

what sort of drawings are you trying to do?

for a cad application there is librecad

https://librecad.org/

for an arty application there is inkscape

https://inkscape.org/

both export to cad file formats

there is also gimp (gnu image manipulation program) which is for artwork and you could save in a vector format and then export or save from inkscape in a cad file format.

https://www.gimp.org/

all free software

[acourtjester]

you can use Inkscape for simple DXF drawings by using the X and Y coordinates, sizing, and align /distribute functions.

[minimivic]

I've used inscape to do silhouettes and export to DXF before.
I can use a parametric in the swiftcut software to do lots of shapes.
Looking into coral draw, it looks more like a photoshop type program with lots of features I wont use.
emachine wasn't perfect but I'd be happy to pay for it over the others I have trialled at the moment.

[Bladevane]

Why did they do this? I loved the old version and found it more useful than Inkscape for technical drawings. I feel like I've lost a best friend.

[minimivic]

Why did they do this? I loved the old version and found it more useful than Inkscape for technical drawings. I feel like I've lost a best friend.

Im lost with all the other programs I have tried.
Did try STl to DXF conversion but that didnt go well.

[robertspark]

As I posted earlier, there is
librecad (which is totally free)
https://librecad.org/

video clip here on librecad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I5AiZfuNY0

and there is also
GStarCAD
https://www.gstarcad.net/
which is paid for.

and draftsight
https://store.draftsight.com/1004/purl- ... =link-text
which too is paid for.

All three are very similar to Autodesk AutoCAD LT (the gstartCAD is probably now a bit more like full blown cad).

They all probably suffer from not being able to use dynamic blocks, but as far as 2d drafting is concerned for plasma just learn the keyboard shortcuts (i use them every day in the job that pays with AutoCAD)

[albert_la]

There is a work around to the export issue I found on the net:
http://www.mycncuk.com/threads/12913-eM ... op-Upgrade

Pressing CTRL+ALT+e will enable those options again for exporting

[minimivic]

Wow, thanks for the heads up. Back to normality again.

[jawslandshark]

Corel Draw does real well and was my main program but I ran into an issue reloading on my computer after an upgrade and was hunting for a program to do quick cut files. I tried almost every program people suggested and ended biting the bullet and bought Vectric cut2d pro, still use Sheetcam for post processing. Learning curve is fast, and very simple. It's been awhile since I used emachine, I thought it was easy, just lacking a few tricks. I am surprised they just don't sell and support a stand alone version? What does it do others don't?