A curated list of 
Emoji Symbols used in this list
- 💰
:moneybag:= commercial - 🏫
:school:= free for education - ✅
:white_check_mark:= recommended - 🆓
:free:= commercial but with free license (possibly limited)
Table of Contents
- Awesome Fabacademy
- fabacademy.org Main website.
- Archive:
- Previous years: complete index of the archive.
- Fab Cloud: Gitlab installation hosting and serving all content since 2017.
- Student's Handbook: general information useful for students, nodes and instructors
- Assessment Guide: assignments and evaluation for Fab Academy students
- Tutorials: assorted list of tutorials by students and instructors.
- Annual Report 2018, 2017.
- Projects on Fab Cloud: Curated list of Fablab-ready projects.
- Student final projects:
- ✅ GitLab: Clone of GitHub, with issue trackers, kanban boards and milestones.
- Redmine: Popular choice for software projects, Ruby on Rails.
- Trac: Similar to Redmine but written in Python, has Gantt charts.
- OpenProject: Project collaboration software, has Gantt charts.
- Gantt Project: Linux project management app.
- 💰 Microsoft Project: mostly used by professionals.
- 💰 ✅ Trello: Kan Ban boards and team collaboration.
- 💰 Basecamp 3: good for small teams.
- 💰 Asana: popular in business.
- Agile: iterative approach to planning and guiding project processes.
- SCRUM: based on the Agile methodology.
- Waterfall: traditional phase by phase project management.
Docs
- Git magic book: by Ben Lynn.
- Pro Git book: by Scott Chacon and Ben Straub.
- Git How to: a guided tour that walks through the fundamentals of Git.
- Git Immersion: is a guided tour that walks through the fundamentals of Git.
- Git commit message: best practices guide for writing a commit message.
Cheatsheets
- Git Cheatsheet: Git Cheatsheet from NDP software.
- Git Cheatsheet: Git Cheatsheet in many languages.
- Useful Git commands: Wishlist of Git commands – and their alternatives.
Clients
- GitHub Desktop: official GitHub client.
- SmartGit: stand-alone or portable Git client.
- TortoiseGit: Windows Explorer shell extension.
- GitKraken
- Git ExtensionsLWindows Explorer extension.
- Tower: powerful client for Mac and Windows
- SVN: popular centralized version control system.
- SVN Red book: you should to start here.
Clients
- TortoiseSVN: Windows Explorer shell extension.
- Version Control for engineers
- Mercurial SCM: Older protocol also used in Fab Academy up to 2015.
- TortoiseHg: Windows Explorer shell extension.
Mostly 🆓 with 💰 options
- Fab Cloud: Free hosting for Fab labs - Sponsored by Fab Foundation.
- Github.com: The most used for Open source projects.
- Gitlab.com: Open source hosting similar to Github, based on Gitlab.
- BitBucket: Commercial GIT provider by Atalassian.
- Sourceforge: Top host for opensource projects before Github came out.
- AutoCAD: 💰 🏫
- Draftsight: Free software from Dassault, similar to Autocad features.
- Gimp: popular and one of the best options for Linux users.
- Krita: open source painting program for artists.
Commercial 💰
- 🆓 MS Paint: built in windows.
- Photoshop: de facto standard for image editing on Mac and Windows.
- LightRoom: photo editing and organization.
- Pixelmator: cost effective image editing for Mac.
- Inkscape: best option for open-source lovers, many extensions, programming in python.
💰 Commercial
- Illustrator: standard software for professional graphic designers.
- Corel Draw: one of the oldest, still used often in the print & advertising industry.
- 🆓 Adobe XD: good free alternative to Sketch from Adobe.
💰 Commercial
- Wireframe.cc: web based tool.
- Balsamiq Mockups: one of the best for low-fi mockups.
- OmniGraffle: popular diagramming app for mac.
- Sketch: trendy app for modern UI designers, MAC only.
- Blender: indiscussed leader for open source 3D modeling and animation.
- TinkerCAD: easy 3d modeling package with STL export, perfect for kids.
- MeshMixer: free package to edit and mix 3d models
💰 Commercial
- 3DS Max
- Maya
- Lightwave
- Cinema 4D
- Modo popular for industrial designers, advanced topology.
- Sketchup: easy free-form modeling with sketch based approach, online and native, free and paid.
- Z-Brush: most used tool for digital artists.
- Mudbox: sculpting high res meshes.
- Sculptris: simpler sculpting program, good for beginners.
- FreeCAD ✅ similar to Solidworks, growing community
- OpenSCAD text-based CSG modeling, used by many open source projects
- 💰 Rhinoceros used by architects and designers, along with the Grasshopper free plugin
- 💰 Fusion 360 🏫 very powerful, cloud integration, integrated mesh, nurbs, surfaces, parametric, CAM tools
- 💰 Solidworks 🏫 Very advanced and complex, used for industrial applications
- Calculix. Open Source alternative to Abaqus. Very similar input file.
- Paraview great post processor (Open Source)
- Deepnest Open source nesting software
- Inkcut Open source software or controlling 2D plotters, cutters, engravers, and CNC machines
- KiCAD - Open source EDA package with push and shove router, differential pairs and much more.
- Eagle - One of the most popular EDA packages due to it's (board size restricted) free version.
- Design Spark PCB - Gratis EDA package without restrictions, sponserd by RS Components.
- Altium Circuit Maker - Free package from the maker of the go to pro software.
- gEDA - Another open source package, good for people that like scripting and makefiles, Linux and BSD only.
- DipTrace - Quality Schematic Capture and PCB Design software with (pin and signal layer restricted) free version.
- LibrePCB - A new, powerful and intuitive EDA tool for everyone, cross-platform and GNU GPLv3.
💰 Commercial
- Xesscorp's list of KiCAD 3rd party tools
- Contextual Electronics' Shine on You Crazy KiCad - Beginner video tutorial that gets you to a manufactured board as quickly as possible.
- Contextual Electronics' Getting to Blinky Tutorial - A more comprehensive beginner to intermediate video tutorial.
- KiCAD.info Forums - User discussion and help forum.
- Keyboard PCB Guide - Comprehensive written tutorial that takes you through creating a keyboard PCB.
- Cheatsheet (also in landscape) - Short PDF that goes over the menus and keyboard shortcuts for the most common operations.
- Footprint Collection - Collection of all the KiCAD footprints available online and some scripts to manage them.
- LTSpice - The industry standard free SPICE circuit simulator from Linear Technologies.
- Ngspice - Open source SPICE circuit simulator.
- Circuit JS - Open source online simulator for simpler circuits with live interactivity and visualization.
- Every Circuit - Free to try online, visual, interactive circuit simulator for simpler circuits.
- Qucs - Open source integrated circuit simulator for DC, AC, S-parameter, noise analysis, etc.
- iCircuit - Easy to use electronic circuit simulator, its advanced simulation engine can handle both analog and digital circuits and features realtime always-on analysis.
- Octopart - Probably the most well known part search engine.
- Findchips - Part search from Supply Frame.
- Parts.io - Another search engine from Supply Frame geared towards discovering new parts.
- Sparkfun - Retailer and designer of open source electronics development boards and other equipment and materials with excellent accompanying tutorials.
- Adafruit - Another retailer and designer with excellent selection and tutorials.
- Tindie - Marketplace for electronics makers to sell low volume batches of their own designs.
- Getting Started in Electronics by Forrest Mims
- The Art of Electronics by Paul Horowitz and Winfield Hill
- Make: Electronics by Charles Platt
- Make: More Electronics by Charles Platt
- Practical Electronics for Inventors by Paul Scherz and Simon Monk
- The AVR Microcontroller and Embedded Systems: Using Assembly and C by Muhammad Ali Mazidi, Sarmad Naimi and Sepehr Naimi
- Encyclopedia of Electronic Components Series by Charles Platt
- Volume 1 - Resistors, Capacitors, Inductors, Switches, Encoders, Relays, Transistors
- Volume 2 - LEDs, LCDs, Audio, Thyristors, Digital Logic, and Amplification
- Volume 3 - Sensors for Location, Presence, Proximity, Orientation, Oscillation, Force, Load, Human Input, Liquid ... Light, Heat, Sound, and Electricity
- Forrest Mims Engineer's Mini Notebook Series
- Zero to Maker: Learn (Just Enough) to Make (Just About) Anything by David Lang
- Hackaday - Probably the most popular blog covering electronics and hardware hacking with a whole staff of writers.
- bunniestudios.com - Andrew 'Bunnie' Huang covers hardware hacking, open hardware, manufacturing and more.
- Bald Engineer - Project logs, tutorials and articles about electronics and embedded software by James Lewis.
- Rheingold Heavy - More project logs, tutorials and articles about electronics and embedded software, these ones by Dan Hienzsch.
- "skill" tag on learn.sparkfun.com - A wide variety of technical tutorials on various EE related skills.
- Soldering is Easy - Comic book that goes over the basics of soldering that has been translated into quite a few languages.
- 1-click BOM - Browser extensions that automates purchasing and part searching.
- Partsbox.io - Web service to manage your part inventory with a nice user interface and Octopart integration.
- Partkeepr - Open source web service for managing your part inventory with parametric search and automatic datasheet import.
- Part-DB - Another open source web service for managing part inventory with a permission system and a good barcode generator.
- PCB Shopper - Comparison service for quite a lot of different PCB batching and assembly services.
- OSH Park - Low cost PCB batching service with high quality boards with a signature purple silkscreen.
- Aisler - Affordable quality circuit boards made in and shipped from Europe (Germany).
- Dirty PCBs - Low cost PCB batching service that prides itself on its "dirty" quality.
- Seeed Studio Fusion - Cheap PCB manufacturing also in large quantities, consulting services
- Cura - For Ultimakers and Repraps
- Simplify 3D
- Slic3r
- OctoPrint - Web interface for 3D printer.
- PrintRun - Pure Python 3d printing host software.
- Repetier - Place, slice, preview and print.
- ReplicatorG - Open source 3D printing program.
- Makerbot Desktop - Discover, manage and share your 3D prints.
From 3D printer manufacturer:
- 123D Gallery (from Autodesk)
- Thingiverse (from Makerbot)
- Treasure Island (from Pirate3D)
Independent:
- 3D Model Free
- 3D Via
- 3DAGOGO
- Bld3r
- CGtrader
- Hum3D - the largest source for vehicle 3D models
- Cuboyo
- Cults
- GrabCAD
- MakerBot Digital Store
- MyMiniFactory
- Pinshape - Find, share and sell 3D print files.
- Redpah
- Repables
- Sculpteo
- SketchFab
- SproutForm
- TF3DM
- Turbosquid
- Open source Photogrammetry: collection of photogrammetry tools
- OpenKinect: open-source software for Kinect sensors
- VSFM: image reconstruction
- AliceVison: photogrammetry software
- ReconstructMe: real-time 3D reconstruction
- Skanect: easy to use and compatible with different Primesense-based scanners
- Recap: Autodesk software for 3D reconstruction, includes features from the old 123-Scan
- Photoscan: high end software for photogrammetry
- 3DSOM: photogrammetry for products
- TRNIO: cheap photogrammetry software for iOS
- SCANN3D: Android-based photogrammetry, :free: but subscription needed to export files
- QLone: easy to use app for Android and iOS, poor quality, expensive export options, :free: export to sketchfab
- Scan-in-a-box: projector-based structured light scanner and software 💰
- Artec Scanners: high-end handeld scanners 💰💰
- ZEISS T-Scan professional handeld scanner 💰 💰 💰
- Kinect: historical low cost solution, older version from XBOX works with open-source sdk
- Structure Sensor: compact low cost scanner for Apple tablets
- Sense: low-cost low resolution scanner
- Primesense Carmine
2.5D
- Carbide Create: freely distributed after newsletter registration.
- MakerCAM: web based (flash).
- PathCAM: python CAM targeting GRBL 0.8.
- JSCut: browser based CAM with 3D G-code simulation, SVG import.
- EASEL: Browser-based CAD + CAM + Machine Control by Inventables.
- GCode tools: inkscape plugin for generating g-code.
- F-Engrave: generate g-code from a font and a line of text.
- Lithophane generator: generate g-code from a picture.
- Text2GCode: script to generate g-code from a text string.
- FlatFab: design in 2D and build 3D objects.
Convert between languages
Simulation
- gcode.ws: browser-based g-code analyzer and visualizer
- CAMotics: G-Code simulation/previewing program.
- Pleasant 3D: G-code 3D Previewer.
- NCViewer: browser-based G-code previewer.
Optimization
- GCode optimizer: Command-line tool that optimizes gcode.
PCB CAM
- FlatCAM: open source pcb-specific cam written in python.
- Carbide Rapid PCB: web based tool for pcb milling by Carbide 3D.
- PCB to GCode: Eagle ULP to generate PCBs (now built-in functionality)
- CopperCAM: Windows-based PCB CAM software.
Commercial CAM
- MasterCAM: advanced CAM tool for professionals.
- FeatureCAM
- Fusion360 CAM: built in CAM into Fusion 360.
- HSMWorks: professional cam for Inventor.
- V-Carve Pro and Aspire: advanced CAM from Vectric, shipped with Shopbots.
- Cut 3D and Cut 2D: low cost wizard-based 2D and 3D CAM from Vectric.
- RhinoCAM: integrated cam for the popular Rhinoceros3D.
- CamBam: cheap but effective hobbist CAM softare
Control software
- Chilipeppr: web-based 3D Viewer. Gcode Sender. Jog controls.
- Carbide control software:default control program for the Shapeoko.
- BCNC: Python GRBL CNC command sender.
- Universal GCode Sender: popular option with GRBL written in Java.
- grblControl: GRBL controller application with G-Code visualizer written in Qt.
- CNCJS: web-based g-code sender. Also run on RaspberryPI.
- GRBL Web: web-based g-code sender. Runs on RaspberryPI.
- jCNC: sender and viewer for GRBL and Tinyg.
- goko.fr: Fully featured cross platform GCode sender for Grbl, TinyG and G2.
Interpreters
- LinuxCNC: free Linux based application for controlling and monitoring CNC machines, without the need of a controller.
- GRBL: open-source g-code interpreter for AVR-based micro-controllers.
Tools
- Step and alignment tool: cross-platform GCODE debug/step and alignment tool for TinyG and Grbl.
- Half blind dovetails generator: a python script to generate half blind dovetails.
Post-processors
Large format
- Crawlbot
- Blue elephant, from China 1212, 1510
- Shopbot Alpha
Desktop machines
- Nomad by Carbide3D: sturdy desktop machine
- Shapeoko by Carbide3D: lightweight entry level machine
- Chinese 6040 and 3040: low cost duty-heavy machines for engraving metal
- Roland SRM-20
- X-Carve
- Carvey
- StepCraft: desktop machines of different sizes with CE certification.
- PocketNC: desktop 5-axis machine, currently on preorder.
- Bantam Tools CNS formerly Othermill: small desktop machine spin-off the MTM class at MIT
- Shopbot Desktop
- OpenBuilds: thousands of projects built on a standard inventory using aluminium extrusions
- Fabricatable Machines: large selection of open-source machines where most parts are made on a CNC.
- Maslow: vertical large-format cnc project.
- Open source extra large CNC: danish fablab making large format cnc machines out of wood.
- Cyclone PCB Factory: mostly 3D-printed CNC machine
Electronics
- GRBL Shield: an Arduino shield with external Pololu drivers, good for beginners
- TinyG: multi-axis motion control system.
- USBCNC: usb and ethernet control boards with great proprietary control software.
- Planet CNC: usb control board.
- GeckoDrive CNC Controllers: professional CNC controls and drivers.
- Beaglebone Machinekit: linux realtime control board with shield.
- Smoothieboard: general purpose controller, mostly suited for 3D printing.
- Parallel Breakout boards: connected with a parallel port to a PC that runs Linux CNC as the controller
TODO: Spindles, Motors, Sensors, Accessories, Milling bits
- Motedis: aluminium extrusions, cnc parts, fittings
G-Code language
- NIST G-Code guidelines
- G-Code Commands
- RML-1 Programming Guideline: Manual for programming RML G-code for Roland Milling machines
Feeds and speed calculators
- Using Chip Load calculations to improve cutting: by Shopbot, a chip load cheatsheet
- Shopbot Feeds and Speeds Chart: chart for all the tools in the shopbot catalogue
- Carbide Feed and Speed Charts: charts for Carbide milling bits
Toolpath strategies
- Peel milling
- Trochoidal milling:
- Feeds and speeds
- Introduction to Trochoidal Milling
- A Trochoidal milling boost
- The new evolution in Trochoidal milling
- Slicing and trochoidal milling
- Trochoidal milling and other milling technique paths: thread on practicalmachinist.com about trochoidal milling
- Trochoidal machining for the high-speed milling of pockets: paper by Wu Shixiong et al.
- Trochoidal milling: paper by M.Otkur, I.Lazoglu.
- Trochoidal milling: investigation of a new approach on uncut chip thickness modeling and cutting force simulation in an alternative path planning strategy: paper by Farbod Akhavan Niaki
Online
- CNC Cookbook
- Autodesk Foundamental of CNC Machining: free book by autodesk covering Fusion CAM
- UM10349: TORMACH PCNC 1100 SERIES 3 OPERATOR MANUAL FOR PATHPILOT: Manual for the popular PCCNC by Tormac
- Fanuc Manuals: Manual for professional CNC Machines
- SIEMENS Manuals: Programming guide for Siemens NC Gcode
Paper / eBooks
- Design for CNC: Furniture Projects and Fabrication Technique: by former Fab Academy instructor Anna Kaziunas France
- CNC Programming Handbook: by Peter Smid, the authoritative book on the subject for professionals
- CNC Trade Secrets: A Guide to CNC Machine Shop Practices: by James A. Harvey, lots of succint tips, recommended for beginners
- Ink/Stitch Open source Inkscape plugin for digital embroidery
- SophieSew Free embroidery design software
- Awesome Search: search all awesome lists
- Awesome Project Management
- Awesome Arduino
- Awesome 3D Printing
- Awesome VCS Tools
- Awesome Electronics
- Open Electronics
- Awesome Fabrication
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