Aspire for MAC

[angel_skull_crusher]

Hi,

Can I get Aspire for my mac at home? Do I have to run it on a windows emulator? I want to make some decorative tables, chairs, woodpanels, mockups of buildings, small prototypes, spoons, and so forth. The list of projects is really endless. Right now, I want to make some toroidal 2.5 D shapes so that I can build a wood model tokamak and then display it at a conference. I think it could look really cool if done correctly. I had the designs on paper, but I want to be able to program at home on my local machine. As it is now, I have to come in to the shop and program on the windows machine. What should I do? How much is Aspire software anyway?

Cheers,

S

[martin54]

There isn't a mac version so you would need to run it through a windows emulator, there are people on the forum who do that but as I haven't used a mac since the G3 was first released I can't tell you what they use

Prices for software are here

http://www.vectric.com/store.html

[LittleGreyMan]

Hi,

You'll need a virtual machine (which BTW is not an emulator). I use VMWare, and Aspire runs jun fine, but I have a powerful MacBook, with lots of RAM and a SSD. Some have reported here using Parallels. I do not know if VirtualBox (free) is OK. If you are using virtualization or Bootcamp, you'll need a Windows license.

Somebody has reported using Wine on Linux, but I didn't have time to check it on the Mac.

http://www.macwindows.com/winintelmac.html

HTH

[Rcnewcomb]

I likewise run Aspire on Mac using vmware Fusion (->Link)

[BOOMER52]

I have been running ASPIRE on my MacPro for several years using PARALLELS Desktop 6. It runs flawlessly…!

[angel_skull_crusher]

I just want to create vector tool paths for my CNC. Is Aspire right for me? I was going to go on the cheap end and just get the Vcarve desktop. Help please.

[martin54]

Have a look at the program comparison, it might help you decide. If you only want something to generate vector toolpaths then vcarve would be capable of doing that for you, desktop might be suitable but look at the differences between desktop & pro for yourself. You can always upgrade to aspire at a latter date should your needs change & you want to start doing other things.

http://www.vectric.com/products/compare.html

[angel_skull_crusher]

It looks like Vcarve desktop is right for me. I guess someone is going to make some money off me.

[martin54]

It looks like Vcarve desktop is right for me. I guess someone is going to make some money off me.

You can always download the trial version to see if it would be right for you before you purchase, there are quite a few programs available that will do what you want so there may be a different software that is better suited for you. I can only speak about my personal experiences. When I was first looking for cam software I looked at quite a few different products, I decided at the time that for my needs Vectric software best fit my need as they offered what I considered to be the best overall package. I wanted a program that not only met my needs but was also reasonably easy to learn & offered reasonable support.
As a signmaker I already had vector based software which was very good & more importantly I was very familiar with so was only really looking for cam software to generate the g code I needed to run the machine. I originally purchased cut2d because I thought that would be all I needed for what I wanted to do. If my needs hadn't changed then I may well just have kept using that.
Once I had the machine running it became clear to me very quickly that the machine was capable of a lot more than I had originally wanted it for & there were lots of things I could do that I hadn't previously thought about. A lot of the new things I wanted to try would not be possible with cut2d so within a month or so of purchasing it I upgraded to vcarve pro. Because of Vectrics upgrade policy I lost next to nothing upgrading & never looked back. With some other Companies I would have had to buy the Next version up at full price.

For me no one comes close to matching the package that Vectric offer & a side bonus (for me) is that I have made some new friends through the forum. As I said at the start I can only speak from my own experiences

[ger21]

It looks like Vcarve desktop is right for me. I guess someone is going to make some money off me.

.
Are you aware that the Desktop versions are size limited? Not sure how big your machine is.

[angel_skull_crusher]

My machine is about 4' by 8'. What do I use for that one? Pro?

[scottp55]

For a full size machine...Pro. Plus you can use Gadgets.

[martin54]

My machine is about 4' by 8'. What do I use for that one? Pro?

That's why I posted the guide for the various Vectric software, Only you really know what you want to be able to do with the software, what other software you may already have & can use & how much you are prepared to spend

If you are in any doubt then download the trial software & take it for a test drive, you should be able to determine reasonably quickly if the software will meet your needs & anything you design in the trial software can be saved & then cut once you purchase the full product, just make sure you install the licensed version on the same machine that the trial version is on

There are a few limitations but you should be able to do enough to make an informed decision.