New to this site

[ShopratBobby]

Hello everyone,
My name is Bobby, I'm new here but have been using plasma cnc's for going on 29 years now. I'm a journeyman Millwright with GM in Saginaw, MI and started off on Vulcan table, in 1996 that was still running off DOS and running Windows as a program not an OS.. My shop just upgraded to a new table(our third), its a ShopSaber Shopmaster 10.

Our previous table was using SigmaNest and we(there are several of us in the shop that use the plasma) were not happy with. It seemed cumbersome and the drawing/development side was such a poor variation of AutoCad LT that it hindered a lot of designs that were anything more than just simple line work. I am wondering what software everyone here is running. EnRoute and ProNest came with the table and we also have a full version of AutoCad as well, because our Engineers obviously work in that.

We just started exploring Enroute and wonder if the is a need for any other programs to really make this table the most effective it can be or is Enroute enough on it's own? Also we do fabricate ductwork here(we're are an Aluminum Foundry) and are wondering what programs anyone here are using for that as well.

Thanks in advance for honest opinions!

[68rscamaro]

You already have autocad, That should do everything that's needed.
It's not great with artwork or tracing drawings though. Inkscape is a decent free program for that kind of stuff.
Between the 2 of those programs I've been able to make everything that I've wanted to.

[adbuch]

Welcome aboard Bobby! I checked out the free trial of EnRoute 24 a few months ago and it seemed like a pretty nice program for mechanical parts. I couldn't find anything that it could do that my other programs can't do. If the shop you work at does mainly mechanical parts - you mention ductwork - then I think it will be sufficient for your needs.

I suppose there are also some specialized programs out there specific to duct work, sheet metal fittings, etc. that you might find useful.
Plate 'n' Sheet Professional is one that comes to mind. If you were to get into anything "artistic" then perhaps consider Inkscape (free) for some of your work.

David