Links/References

Websites

Home of Visual Camscript, a Windows IDE for CNC programmers using Apt. A good program to check out if you are interested in finding out about Apt in a Windows environment. Included is a very good Apt translator and a geometry viewer. This was previously known as Personal Apt, and is the extension of that program into a Windows IDE.
-Free-

Qcad is a open source, high quality 2d-only drafting program. I've used it extensively for checking the geometry of Apt programs. A must have for using apt360.

Blender is a powerful, open source 3d modeling, rendering, and animation package. I've used it primarily because of it's ability to import 3d dxf files.

A nicely done web forum for machinists with hobbyists well represented.

Books

If you are a machinist, this book needs no introduction. It is the first source of information for machinists for nearly a century. An overview on Apt is included in this edition, and probably later editions, and reading it was when I first became aware of Apt.

This book is out of print, but issues can still be bought from independent resellers at places like Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble It is a very thorough treatment of Apt, from basics to advanced multi-axis programming. The Apt translator used in the book was IBM's Apt-AC, which is very similar to apt360.

Other Sources

These are two newsgroups devoted to cnc and metalworking. You will need a news reader program like Free Agent and a ISP that provides newsgroups. An alternative is to use Google Groups. Google Groups is also a good resource for historical postings on these two groups.