Made for the space between an idea and a finished object

Meet the Cadivari founder

Hi, I’m Dieter Schneider. I have worked with small-scale CNC machining for more than a decade and have been programming for more than 24 years.

Cadivari began with a frustration I suspect many makers share. CAD and CAM software can be expensive, while increasingly restrictive licensing can make continued access depend on a subscription or cloud account. I did not need every enterprise feature, and I did not want my ability to use a tool—or open my own work—to depend on another monthly payment.

That led me to build the CAD/CAM software I wanted to use. Cadivari is local-first, focused on practical capability and built around good old-fashioned software ownership. The model is deliberately simple: buy a perpetual licence and receive one year of new versions. When that year ends, every version covered by your licence keeps working. Core design and manufacturing workflows do not require a permanent internet connection.

Software should remain a tool you can rely on—not permission that disappears when a subscription ends.

I started CNC machining with an early Shapeoko. One of my first projects is still on my YouTube channel; at the time, I was also working as a photographer. I even designed and 3D-printed the dust shoe shown in the video. Cadivari now supports that same crossover between making processes, including exporting solid models as .3mf files for slicing and 3D printing.

I later upgraded to a Shapeoko Pro, which I still use and which appears in several of my videos. Cadivari is not my first software product, either: I also created Autostrek for small-scale construction projects such as garages and sheds. Autostrek reaches its first anniversary in October 2026.