New STV 4x8 plasma table

[mkrich601]

I had about decided on a 4x8 STV table but I hate ink scape. I really like fusion 360 but it’s expensive. Any good tables in 20k price range with better cad software. Or is there a reasonable price software I can use without pay 1k a year to use. I like the arc light but at 26k it’s a little out of my price range. I know this topic has probably been beat to death but any help is much appreciated.

[weldguy]

I also do not like Inkscape, many use it because it is free and when you get onto it you can do everything paid software can do. I wouldn't chose a table based on the CAD software that comes with it because you can use any CAD software you want with any of these tables. If you like the STV then go for it since your not out anything ditching the Inkscape. I personally use CorelDraw for artistic designs and Fusion360 for mechanical designs.

[mkrich601]

I downloaded Mach 3. Last night haven’t had time to look into it. Any opinions on it.

[acourtjester]

Many time when you buy a table it comes with a controller software, but if your building your own you will need to have a software package to drive the table. Mach 3 is Ok but there are others and they will depend on the electronics you use. Some of the bought table software is a modified version of Mach and other used LinuxCNC base and still other bases. Mach 3 is fine for a demo for you to have a look around of the operations as it will function without a table hooked up. You can get an idea on what is needed to setup up a table and a visual of it moving on the screen.

[weldguy]

I downloaded Mach 3. Last night haven’t had time to look into it. Any opinions on it.

Mach3 is not design software like Inkscape or Fusion360, it is machine control software. Unlike CAD design software, machine control software is not something you will not be able to choose when you buy a machine, every manufacturers uses their choice of machine control software and you will be stuck with that. For design software though you have choices.

[mkrich601]

so iv bout decided on the STV table but I need a alternative cad software to inkscape. I know there's fusion 360. what other cad software do some of you guy use

[acourtjester]

Google free CAD software and you should find a few to try out, Fusion 360 seems for me fairly used by many as it also can add CAM to the deal. I have not gotten involved with it yet as I have TurboCAD and SheetCam. Have fun, not hard just need to get the big picture and allow yourself to ask questions on what you select. They all do similar things but may call them by different names/tasks.

[tinspark]

so iv bout decided on the STV table but I need a alternative cad software to inkscape. I know there's fusion 360. what other cad software do some of you guy use

Onshape is very similar solid works and fusion imo. In fact the ceo of of solid works started up the onshape software with a few other engineers There is a free version, (onshape) which is public. or a paid version which is private. Our apprenticeship school received free 1 year licenses from them for training apprentices. I do prefer fusion 360, which has similarities to onshape, but there is not a lot of difference overall imo. And if one is mastered , it is an easy transition to the other. This has been discussed in the software tread in depth a few years ago..
https://plasmaspider.com/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=33623

[plasmanewbie]

so iv bout decided on the STV table but I need a alternative cad software to inkscape. I know there's fusion 360. what other cad software do some of you guy use

I would suggest Corel Draw, it's not free but it's not expensive and they have a free 30 day trial. I have used if for 20 years and I think it's great. Much like Inkscape but easier to use in my opinion. Fusion 360 is no good for artistic designs but awesome for mechanical stuff. What kind of things will you be drawing in CAD?

[tcaudle]

Priced Coreldraw lately? Its gone to the "rent" model so works out to about 500 bucks a year and you never own it .
For plasma cutting Fusion 360 is WAY overkill. While the "hobby" version is free it has restrictions and it gets difficult to renew every year. Its really great for 3D work but plasma is not 3D. If you don't use Fusion 360 CAM (and you may not have a POST for you specific machine ) then the only export option is DXF. You can read some of the reasons DXF is a not a good format for CNC . it works (usually) but there are other better vector formats that maintain the complex curves and 4 point circles.
There are lots of general purpose CAD programs ; some free, some low cost and others are expensive. A lot depends on what kind of cutting you want to do . Decorative plasma needs a good Drawing program . Pure CAD works best for mechanical shapes and drawing machinery and buildings.

There are some "all -in-one" Drawing + Cam programs. Some of them only work with specific CNC controllers .

After having used CorelDraw since version 3 (not X3 which is actually version 13) the move to Inkscape was not painless but once you grasp the basic concepts and learn the menus you find its as powerful as both CorelDraw and Adobe Illustrator. I think the biggest drawback is it has too many tools and options. If you can look past the tools you will never use and learn to use the built in drafting tools (like construction lines and the snap menu) things start to fall in place. The whole concept of drawing with "objects" (shapes) in contrary to CAD and drawing in primatives but once you master it it makes drawing a project lots faster. An important feature for decirative cutting is to be able to import a wide range of vector and even some bitmap formats . You find that a lot of professional vector art is in formats used more in the non-CAd world. From T-shirts to sign shops you find that the standard formats are things like AI, PostScript , PDF, and SVG. Having the ability to move files between different types of applaictions becomes valuable if you take files in from customers or you want to use high quality vector artwork,

Make sure what you buy has the Options to expand and add features. You may not ever want to add a plate marker or oxy-fuel cutting or to mount a router and cut softer media than steel, but its nice to have those options at a reasonable price available to you

Bottom line : everyone likes what they have an investment in in time or money.

[plasmanewbie]

Haven't priced Corel lately, been using the same 1 time purchase version for a few years now, cost me a little over $400 I think. All software seems going to subscription model now.....buts its to the benefit of the customer, not them they say lol

[mkrich601]

On scribe options STV uses easy scribe. Can I add an air scribe to their table. I believe they use myplasmcnc. Will it operate an air scribe? I’m just learning and trying to make sure I get what I want in my first table without spending a fortune.

[SegoMan DeSigns]

Haven't priced Corel lately, been using the same 1 time purchase version for a few years now, cost me a little over $400 I think. All software seems going to subscription model now.....buts its to the benefit of the customer, not them they say lol

I think C D 2021 is the last year it was stand alone system, student / home versions can be had for a cheaper price, it just does not have all of the features active (you probable won't use them anyway for 2D parts drawing) I like CorelDraw because there is so many tutorials on Y/T how to use it. A lot of "Free" software will get you hooked on their products then start charging you for it.. (IE Draftsight use to be free now it's $100 / year) The morale to that story is to always save a DXF version of that file as it's native format might not work if you don't pay the ransomware prices.

[tcaudle]

On scribe options STV uses easy scribe. Can I add an air scribe to their table. I believe they use myplasmcnc. Will it operate an air scribe? I’m just learning and trying to make sure I get what I want in my first table without spending a fortune.

Last time I checked MuPlasma does not support anything but plasma. Their THC takes over control and you can't send it Z moves

Maybe they have been able to add that feature (Plate Marker) and Router but not sure and if its usable with the current hardware.

[tcaudle]

A lot of "Free" software will get you hooked on their products then start charging you for it..

Its kinda hard to start charging for Open Source software since the source code is protected and you HAVE to make it available and you can't just decide to stop at a version and start charging. You can charge a maintenance fee for applications but you can't charge for the source code if someone wants to compile and use it themselves. Not all code for Linux is Open Source but a large portion is .

Most free software is worth what they charge.....the exceptions are ones that have terms of developers or a large company behind them. Open Office is a great Word Processing/Spreadsheet/presentation and Drawing program . Its equal to MS office in many ways . It tends to bog down on really large documents and the CAD tools are pretty basic. GIMP is a full featured bitmap editing and conversion application BUT its not for casual users to do quick edits .

A lot of tools have started to release multi platform (Windows/Linux?MACOS versions . They usually are not open source or free but it does give you a lot of options,

No matter what the software companies say the cost of a subscription is not to YOUR advantage. The while concept is you can get more and sell more if you take it in smaller chucks . 50 bucks a month is not so bad until you realize that in three years you will have paid $1800 bucks for software that used to sell for 400.00. and it is still not yours.

Another neat trick is to buy out your competition , offer the software for free with no updates and no support, then let its slowly die off....

[mkrich601]

So can I change to a software later if I need or want to.

[caretech]

You can use any drawing software that works for you with any plasma table. Inkscape is great for art but not good at all for technical parts with strict dimensions. If you don't like it, draw with something else that suits your style. Software and tables are separate. As long as you can output a DXF or SVG from your drawing software for import into your nesting software, and your nesting software has a post processor compatible for your table, you're good. I wouldn't base any table hardware choices on software. The only level of "lock-in" to software that comes immediately to mind is Plasmacam, where their proprietary table control software apparently doesn't use industry-standard G-Code. But even then, you can choose to draw with any software you choose and import DXF files of your drawings into their control software to run your table.