JetCad3 CAD/CAM

Hi everyone,

I’m building JetCad3 — a native parametric CAD and CAM application for people who design and cut real parts. The goal is a serious design tool with full 2D/3D modeling, sensible exports, and practical CAM for sheet cutting, without locking you to one vendor’s cloud or one OS: JetCad3 runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. More about the project: jetcad.io

Right now there are two workspaces you can use end-to-end. The system is ready for daily plasma use, I've actually been using it for a few years in my shop as I've been at this for quite some time before making it publicly available.

Drafting (CAD)
Full 2D parametric sketching and 3D solid modeling (extrude, revolve, sweep, helix, and friends), re-editable feature history, assemblies / multi-body workflows, and the usual import/export you’d expect for fabrication and printing — e.g. DXF/SVG for flat patterns, STEP/STL/3MF for solids. There’s also a parametric geometry generator for common mechanical parts (gears, sprockets, pulleys, splines, etc.) so you’re not always redrawing the same primitives from scratch.

Plasma CAM
Toolpath generation tuned for plasma tables: arc-preserved G-code (G2/G3), kerf compensation, lead-in/out, pierce delay, feed/speed controls, auto-nesting (several effort levels), and cut simulation with a live DRO-style view so you can sanity-check the program before it hits the table. If you’re already on SheetCAM or Fusion 360, there’s an AI-assisted post processor converter: paste your existing post, get something native to JetCad3 you can iterate on — handy if you’re comparing workflows or migrating gradually.

Laser CAM (roadmap)
Laser CAM is not shipping yet, but it’s a major focus. The plan is to cover CO2 flat-bed style cutting as well as fiber galvo workflows — different kinematics and process assumptions, so they’ll be treated as first-class paths rather than a single generic “laser” mode bolted onto plasma.

Why I’m posting here

A lot of LinuxCNC users live at the intersection of Linux on the shop floor, real G-code, and actually cutting parts. I’d like to find a small group who are interested in trying JetCad3 seriously — running real jobs, pushing edge cases, and giving candid feedback.

Testers would be marked Staff on the JetCad3 community forum, with free access to all current JetCad3 features for as long as they want to stay in the testing group (no fixed end date tied to “please churn out bug reports by Friday”). In return, I’m hoping for honest reports: what works, what breaks, and what would make the tool fit your workflow better — especially on Linux and with plasma (and later laser) in the loop.

If that sounds like you, reply here and mention roughly your setup (OS, table/controller if you’re comfortable sharing, and whether you’re more CAD-heavy, CAM-heavy, or both).

For anyone that's not really interested in being a tester but may be interested in trying out JetCad3 on their own time, there is Free / Hobby use available. You simply download from the website for your preffered platform (Window, Linux, or Mac OS) and click Free / Hobby at the sign-in window (No account creation required) in the desktop app. In the Drafting workspace that limits to one Component with up to 5 Sketches. In the Plasma workspace, you're limited to 500 lines of posted Gcode but you can Auto-Nest across multiple sheets, then post out one or two parts out at a time (to stay under 500 lines of gcode) to complete a large nest cut on your CNC plasma machine. If you feel the system has potential for your workflow, I'm offering 30 day free trial. The trial DOES require credit card input when signing up for the trial but you always have the option to cancel before getting a charge if you change your mind, this is just to keep trial abuse down to a minimum.

Thanks for reading — and thanks to everyone who keeps the LinuxCNC ecosystem moving; it’s a big inspiration for building JetCad3. I've used LinuxCNC for the better part of 12 years from everything between mill & lathe retro-fits to both new CNC Plasma and Fiber laser machines that I used to build for a living.

Fair point, and I get the frustration — I've felt it too. But I'd push back a little on lumping this in with the VC-backed subscription-everything crowd.
I've been at this for twelve years, solo. No investors, no team, no safety net. I own a small machine shop, I run Mac & Linux (hate Windows), and I built JetCad3 because the tools I needed either didn't exist, didn't run on Linux, or cost more than the machines I was running them on. FreeCAD is genuinely good software and I have nothing but respect for it — but my scope is much larger, and I don't think the end goal is achievable as an open source project.
The subscription isn't the goal — developers are. I've written my own geometry libraries, my own NFP and Skyline nesting algorithms — I own all of it specifically so I'm not paying upstream licensing fees that force my prices up. I want this as cheap as humanly possible. My end goal is to put the middle finger up at Autodesk, not replicate their business model.
I'm blue collar as it gets. I already run two businesses and support my family — JetCad3 isn't a get-rich scheme, it's a twelve-year bet that someone should build serious CAD/CAM that runs on Linux and doesn't cost small shops an arm and a leg. If revenue ever lets me hire developers who've actually run a machine, I think I can genuinely compete with Autodesk, MasterCAM, Dassault, and ProNest — and that's a win for this industry, not a betrayal of it. I want to be so much cheaper than them with more/high quality features that it forces them to lower prices when they start hemorrhaging subscribers...
One thing I maybe didn't make clear enough in my original post: there will always be a generous free/hobby tier for every workspace in JetCad3. Guys building their automotive project in the garage will always be a priority for me — because that IS ME.

I tried the plasma part a bit. Nesting and placing works very well,
really nice. Also made a quick post processor for PlasmaC.
Pretty rudimentary, remove feeds and Z movements and add a few lines in the header.
I'm not going to be part of the development of this software, just wanted to give a quick
micro-review after spending maybe an hour in it. It's nice, modern look, interactive
and I got going without instructions. 
I can see myself using it occasionally, for nesting/placing many parts.

Hey Hakan,

I appreciate the positive feedback! I have a test user out of Canada who uses PlasmaC and as I'm writing this, I'm working on a full featured LinuxCNC PlasmaC post that will ship with the releases going forward. I should have the new release with that post included by the end of the day today. When you see the auto-update window, do the update and you should have a PlasmaC post ready to test. My shop plasma is not LinuxCNC controlled so I can't test this post in house, I'll have to rely on you or Joel (my other PlasmaC user) for confirmation that the post is correct.

I know you mentioned you're not going to be part of the development but if you change you're mind and would like to do some more testing, You can create an account on the website and I can mark you as "Staff" which gets you access to everything I have in the works (there's a BUNCH of stuff I'm working on) and there's very little commitment on your end. Just occasional testing of features on your time. Joel and Scott (One of my Australian Testers) have been incredible assets in providing new feature ideas and pointing out bugs which I've missed entirely.

Once again, thank you for your positive feedback it's much appreciated. I'd love to get snowgoer540 to give it a look, his post was understandably skeptical but he's just the skeptic I'm looking for....