CamBam is really easy to use: http://cambam.info/ It doesn't support true automated V-Carving for text/images though if that's what you're after. You can tell it to follow a profile/line with your v-bit. Source: about 1 year ago

If it's a simple DXF or a 2.5D part CamBam is free to try and works well: http://cambam.info/. Source: almost 3 years ago

If computer graphics is of interest, BRL-CAD (https://brlcad.org) is very welcoming to new contributors and has lots of projects you could take on. Source: about 1 year ago

Mike Muuss[0] approves of this message. 0: https://brlcad.org/. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago

Join an open source community that is welcoming to newcomers (e.g., BRL-CAD, Haiku OS, OSGeo, ..) and work on a little bit of code every day. It can be a simple feature, specific bug, or something new you want to achieve. Many open source groups are very welcoming to newcomers if you do the work and ask smart questions. Source: about 1 year ago

You could also try out free AutoCAD alternatives like libreCAD (2D), or brlCAD (2D&3D, I believe). Source: about 1 year ago

So, uh ... Learning curve. If you want anything and everything under the sun, go with BRL-CAD. It was designed for ballistics testing and simulation, but it can do pretty much anything. The learning curve for BRL-CAD is immense. Otherwise, I recommend OpenSCAD. Source: over 1 year ago