So now that I've got my spindle working...

[bill.french]

... what are some suggestions for (hopefully free) tool chains for 2.5 / 3d CAD / CAM?

I've googled and googled and have not had any clear answers. I do have a tool chain for pcbs and emc2 / linuxcnc for the last mile working just fine.

I mostly want to make simple brackets and things. I think the CAM part is what's more mysterious to me, for getting things like tool offsets working and such.

Spindle Close Up

Spindle in action

[bdring]

You get what you pay for. My top criteria are productivity and features. I have used several free products, but never get the productivity and features I need. I love the products from Vectric. I can go from CAD to fully featured G-Code in minutes. I started with V-Carve and upgraded to Aspire. They had an upgrade deal when Aspire was first released. I have only used the features Aspire has that V-Carve does not about 4-5 times. I also used an evaluation copy Cut 2-D for a while. It can do 90% of my daily work and is quite cheap.

[Digitalmagic]

Be careful while using brushless motor for a spindle.
The torque is decreasing with increasing RPM, so a torquey one is advised.
Also, if it happens that the tool stall/stop the brushless, the power will be dissipated by heat, and could damage the stator.

A good idea, curious to get your feedback, you could also think about trying a planetary gear, to raise the torque level.

[awesomenesser]

Be careful while using brushless motor for a spindle.
The torque is decreasing with increasing RPM, so a torquey one is advised.
Also, if it happens that the tool stall/stop the brushless, the power will be dissipated by heat, and could damage the stator.
...

If you buy a high quality ESC it should detect a stall and turn off automatically.

The current loads on those motors can be tremendous what kind of power supply are you using? (I happen to be computer engineer for a US ESC company)

I would also be afraid of using one of those motors because as far as I know they don't use thrust bearings so your vertical tolerance wouldn't be very accurate. They usually just use a set of E clips, but I guess it works.