Its much easier to use the same software as the customer in many cases but this is expensive and the customers volume in work must justify it.ĬorelDRAW - has been a very popular program for years it works great for artwork but can have a high cost at $469 and a steep initial learning curve. Well I have multiples of nearly every program because I have customers all over the country that send me files and sometimes I need to change or modify them to work properly. Speaking of CorelDRAW I use that program as well. It has the ability to do artwork as well as CAD parts but when it comes to CAD parts you have to get a bit creative since its not a true CAD program.

Its very similar to CorelDRAW but much less expensive and a bit easier to use. They stopped updating this software but you can still find it out here on the web for about $40. I have used a program called DrawPlus X8 for many years. While many programs can do both they can not always do both great. Its not uncommon to use two design programs one for CAD parts and one for artwork. Broken down most simply CAD “PARTS” and artwork, like pictures and signs. When it comes to CNC plasma cutting your going to end up cutting a few different types of objects. There are lots of options here and many free options as well. What are these different components? Here is a quick break down:ĬAD / ART - This is the software that your going to use to make or create your part, object, sign ect that your going to cut.

I’m going to cover the ones that I have used / most popular options. There are hundreds of options out there when it comes to software.

Fusion 360 for plasma table