I'm joining my local Maker-space to get access to a laser cutter and need suggestions for a good desktop SW. I'm familiar with Sketchup, but the Non-Pro version does not let you save the files locally, and I think I'll need that to bring the files to the maker-space. I don't mind paying a moderate price for the SW, but I don't want to have to pay a subscription fee for something I plan on using sparatically. When I spoke to the guys there they said the PC has Autolaser which appears to be a open source app, but I think that's just to use the machine, not for design. Any suggestions.
Autodesk Fusion 360 is free to use. It is a full on 3D CAD/CAM package and can be a bear to learn, but there are a lot of tutorials available. If you are looking for just a vector drawing package, Affinity Designer is good and cheap. It's not Adobe Illustrator, but it should be able to do anything you need.
I will second the recommendation for Affinity Designer. I've heard Inkscape is good and is also free. I think in most cases as long as you can export an .EPS or .SVG with the right line colors and thicknesses you should be good to go for a laser cutter. They should have a class for you (they should likely require it so you don't set anything on fire) to cover the basics and I bet they something on the computer, no? Ours has Illustrator and Corel Draw, for example.
Thanks for the info. I have the class tomorrow. I was given a quick tour of the work area and their computers looked a little old, and asked if I can bring my own and connect to the Laser cutter. It's a non-profit (or not for profit) maker-space so some of the tools they have are a little used.
