Official Luthiers Forum!

We just got a new General 15" x 20" i-Carver CNC Carving Machine, Model 40-915X at our store. It comes with Artcam Express as its operating system.
Has anyone worked with this machine or program before? We are in the learning phase.
Thanks for any help

Hi Paul,
Art Cam Express is the Cad/Cam software. It is a very watered down version of ArtCam Pro. The controller software on the Icarver is proprietary. You must make sure that your ArtCam Express has the correct Post Processor for your machine. General should supply that for you. I have not worked with the General Machines very much. Only at my local Woodcraft. I have helped the staff there become familiar with CNC. Art Cam is more of a artsy type of Modeling software. It is capable of doing many things but that is the PRO version. The Express in my opinion is very limited in many aspects. It will give a person new to CAD CAM some understanding but not of the CNC aspect. While it will produce your Gcode, you must have a working knowledge of the machine to understand the why's and how to's of generating a correct tool path. There are many tutorials out on the web for Expess though. So good luck and don't get discouraged.
MK

_________________
I'm outside looking in, just farther from the window than most.

I've not used ArtCam before and don't profess to be a CNC expert, but I've used similar products and do have CNC experience. But more importantly, I'm just across town from you. I'd be happy to lend a hand if you'd like me to. It takes a little while to get the basics down.

Dave