ArtCAM Premium 2018.2.1 was the final release of Autodesk’s relief carving and CNC design software before Autodesk discontinued it entirely on July 7, 2018, with technical support ending that November. There’s no current, legal way to buy a new ArtCAM license, Autodesk doesn’t sell it, and no reseller carries it either. AutoCAD 2026 is still very much alive and actively developed, but it was never a like-for-like replacement for ArtCAM’s specific relief-carving and CNC toolset.
ArtCAM itself was built for a narrower niche than most CAD software: 3D relief carving, sign-making, jewelry design, and decorative woodworking, aimed at artists and small workshops rather than industrial manufacturing. Vector-to-3D conversion, texturing and sculpting tools, and CNC toolpath generation for machines like Tormach and ShopBot made it a genuine standout in that space for years. SketchUp Pro 2026 covers general 3D modeling, but it was never built for the relief-carving workflow ArtCAM specialized in.
What matters most here is what happened after discontinuation. Carveco Ltd. acquired ArtCAM’s source code, documentation, and engineering expertise directly from Autodesk in 2021, and now develops the software’s actual successor: Carveco Maker, Carveco Maker Plus, and Carveco Pro. Carveco Pro specifically shares the most similarity with ArtCAM Premium 2018 in interface, tools, and features, since it’s built by many of the same people who worked on the original.
Existing ArtCAM perpetual license holders can keep using their software indefinitely without maintenance, but it receives no further updates, bug fixes, or compatibility work for newer Windows versions or hardware. Running an 8-year-old, unmaintained CAD program on current hardware isn’t guaranteed to go smoothly, and there’s no vendor to call if it doesn’t.
Key Features (Legacy, as of final release)
- 3D relief modeling and sculpting for carving and engraving work
- Vector-to-3D conversion from 2D sketches
- CNC toolpath generation for milling and engraving machines
- Texturing tools for realistic surface detail on 3D models
- Compatibility with CNC routers including Tormach and ShopBot
- Jewelry design and sign-making specific workflows
ScreenShots
System Requirements (Original, 2018)
- Windows 7, 8.1, or 10 (64-bit)
- Intel or AMD multi-core processor
- 8 GB RAM minimum, 16 GB recommended
- 1 GB free disk space for installation
- Note: no official compatibility testing exists for Windows 11 or current hardware
Why I Recommend (Or Rather, Why I Don’t)
Being honest about this one: I wouldn’t buy a legacy ArtCAM license from a third-party seller today. Prices for used ArtCAM 2018 Premium copies floating around online run $1,000-$2,200, for software with zero updates, zero support, and no guarantee it’ll even install cleanly on a modern machine. That’s a genuinely bad trade compared to a supported, actively developed alternative.
If you already own a perpetual ArtCAM license from before discontinuation, there’s no reason to stop using it as long as it keeps working on your current setup. But starting fresh, Carveco Pro is the software actually worth evaluating, it’s built by the original engineering team, gets real updates, and covers the same relief-carving and CNC niche ArtCAM occupied.
For anyone weighing CAD and CAM options for CNC or carving work, our Graphic Design section has more current design and modeling tools worth comparing against a discontinued product like this one.
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Technical Details
- Developer: Autodesk (originally Delcam)
- Final version: 2018.2.1
- Platform: Windows
- Status: Discontinued July 7, 2018; no updates or support since November 1, 2018
- Official successor: Carveco (Maker, Maker Plus, Pro editions), developed by the original ArtCAM engineering team
Download Information
Download | Size: 978.97 MB | Pass: Mazterize.in
