User Guide

Interface Overview

The layout of the application and what each area does.

Application Layout

The application has a top toolbar (global project, view, snap, and measure actions) and a left toolbar rail (drawing and editing tools), plus a left panel (feature tree and properties), a central canvas area, and a right panel (CAM operations and tools). The view tabs at the top of the canvas switch between Sketch, 3D View, and Simulation.

screenshots/interface-overview.png
Full application interface — top toolbar, left toolbar rail, project panel, canvas, and CAM panel

Showing & Hiding Panels

The left toolbar is a fixed vertical rail on the left edge of the workspace. The two side panels can each be opened or closed independently to free up canvas space — use the project panel control to show or hide the feature tree and properties column, and the operations panel control to show or hide the CAM column. Closing a panel keeps its contents and state; reopening it restores everything as it was.

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Workspace controls for opening and closing the project and operations panels

Starting a Project

Clicking New Project opens the New Project dialog. Give the project a name and pick a template to start from; a preview on the right summarises what the template provides (units, stock size, and how many features, tools, and operations it includes, plus the assigned machine).

TemplateWhat it gives you
Blank MetricAn empty project in millimeters.
Blank ImperialAn empty project in inches.
Current ProjectReuses the currently open project's settings (units, stock, machine) as the starting point.
Template FileLoads a saved .camj file and uses its settings as the template.

The same dialog has an Or open an example row with bundled sample projects — PureCutCNC, T Style guitar body, and Badge — each demonstrating different operations (pocket, V-carve, drilling, rest machining, edge-out). Opening one is the fastest way to see a complete workflow end to end.

screenshots/new-project.png
New Project dialog — project name, template list with preview, and example projects

The Start Screen

A brand-new project opens on the Sketch view with an empty canvas and a Start your part card offering three ways to begin:

  • Draw a shape — sketch geometry directly on the canvas.
  • Import a file — bring in SVG, DXF, OBJ, STL, or .camj files.
  • Open an example — load one of the bundled sample projects.

The card disappears once the project has geometry, and returns whenever the canvas is empty again.

Toolbars

PureCut CNC has two toolbars, split by what the tools act on:

  • Top toolbar — global, project-wide actions: new/open/import/export/save, undo and redo, view fit, snapping, and measurement & dimensions.
  • Left toolbar rail — the drawing and feature-editing tools: the creation target, the shape tools, and the transform/edit verbs.

The groups below are labelled with the toolbar they live in.

Project Actions · top toolbar

New ProjectOpens the New Project dialog (templates and example projects). If there are unsaved changes, you will be asked to confirm before proceeding.
Open ProjectOpens a .camj file from disk.
Import GeometryOpens the Import dialog for SVG, DXF, STL, OBJ, and .camj project files.
Export ModelExports the assembled 3D model as STL, or the 2D design as SVG. Offers curve-quality presets and per-format options. See Export & Print.
Save ProjectSaves the current project to disk. On first save, you will be prompted for a file location.

History · top toolbar

UndoReverts the last change. Disabled when there is nothing to undo.
RedoRe-applies the last undone change.

View · top toolbar

Zoom to ModelFits the entire model into the canvas viewport.
Zoom SelectedFits the selected features into the viewport. Click again to cancel.

Snapping · top toolbar

Snap toggleEnables or disables all snapping at once.
Grid snapSnap to grid increment.
Point snapSnap to feature vertices.
Line snapSnap to nearest point on a segment.
Midpoint snapSnap to segment midpoints.
Center snapSnap to circle centers and feature bounding box centers.
Perpendicular snapSnap to the perpendicular point on a segment.
Intersection snapSnap to where two segments cross. A label names the active snap type at the cursor.

Drawing Tools · left toolbar

Before drawing, choose the creation target with the toggle buttons at the top of the drawing group — Create features (plus icon), Create lines (line icon), Create regions (pocket icon), or Create construction (construction icon). The next shape you draw becomes the chosen kind: a normal Add/Subtract feature, an open/closed Line feature for engraving and V-carving, a Region machining-area filter, or reference-only construction geometry. See Drawing Tools for the line drawing mode and Core Concepts for regions and construction.

Create featuresSubsequent shapes are placed as normal sketch features. Their Add/Subtract operation can be changed in the properties panel.
Create linesSubsequent shapes are placed as non-solid Line features — open or closed paths for engrave and V-carve, kept out of the 3D solid.
Create regionsSubsequent shapes are placed as Region features — area filters for CAM operations rather than material.
Create constructionSubsequent shapes are placed as construction geometry — reference guides that never generate toolpaths.
RectangleDraw an axis-aligned rectangle.
CircleDraw a circle by center and radius.
EllipseDraw an ellipse by anchor and opposite corner. Width and height are independent.
PolygonDraw a polygon by placing vertices.
SplineDraw a smooth spline curve.
CompositeDraw a path with mixed line, arc, and spline segments.
TextPlace a text feature.
SlotDraw an obround (rounded-end) slot between two points.
Regular polygonDraw an equal-sided polygon from a center, radius, and side count.
GearDraw an involute spur gear from a center and outside radius, then set tooth count, module, and profile parameters.
Rounded rectangleDraw a rectangle with rounded corners.
Chamfered rectangleDraw a rectangle with beveled corners.

See Drawing Tools for details on each shape tool.

Feature Edit Tools · left toolbar

CopyCopy selected features to a new position.
MoveMove selected features.
DeleteDelete selected features.
ResizeScale selected features.
RotateRotate selected features.
OffsetCreate an offset copy of selected closed features.
JoinBoolean union of selected closed features.
CutSubtract one feature from others.
ConstraintAdd a fixed-distance constraint between a feature and a reference point or feature.

See Editing Features for details on each edit tool.

Measure & Dimensions · top toolbar

A transient tape measure plus six permanent dimension types. Dimensions store anchors rather than frozen numbers, so they follow geometry through edits.

Tape MeasureClick two points for a live distance / Δx / Δy / angle readout. Not saved with the project.
AlignedDistance between two points along the line connecting them.
HorizontalX-axis distance between two points.
VerticalY-axis distance between two points.
RadiusRadius of a circle, ellipse, or arc segment.
DiameterDiameter of a circle, ellipse, or arc segment.
AngleAngle between two segments or three points.
Delete DimensionClick-to-delete mode for clearing dimensions; stays armed until Esc.
Show / Hide DimensionsGlobal toggle; saved with the project.

See Measure & Dimensions for the full workflow.

Feature Tree

The feature tree on the left side of the application lists all elements of the project in a hierarchical structure. The top-level nodes are:

  • Project — project-level settings: name, units, clearances, machine selection.
  • Grid — grid visibility, spacing, and snap increment.
  • Stock — stock dimensions, material, and color.
  • Origin — machine origin position and visibility.
  • Backdrop — backdrop image for tracing (visible when a backdrop is loaded).
  • Features — the list of sketch features, optionally organized into folders.
  • Tabs — holding tabs for edge route operations.
  • Clamps — workholding clamps.

Click any node to select it and see its properties in the Properties panel below the tree. Features can be reordered by dragging. The order matters — see Core Concepts.

Visibility Icons

Each feature row has a visibility toggle (the filled/empty circle icon). Hiding a feature removes it from the 3D model and toolpath calculations. Hiding an operation removes its toolpath from the display and from G-code export.

Folders

Features can be organized into folders for clarity. Select the Features root node and click Add Folder in the properties panel. Drag features into folders, or use the Folder dropdown in the feature's properties panel. (Regions get their own folders the same way under the Regions node.)

Group Folders (Transform Groups)

A folder can also be a group — a CAD-style container whose contents are treated as a single unit. Select two or more features, right-click, and choose Group to collect them into a grouped folder.

  • Clicking any member of a grouped folder selects the whole group, so move, rotate, and resize act on every feature in it together.
  • The group's properties panel shows a Group section where you can rename it, toggle its grouped state (turning it back into a plain folder), or delete the group.
  • While features are grouped, their individual Folder dropdown is disabled — ungroup the folder first if you need to move one member out on its own.

Grouped folders are also what expanding a text feature produces — one group per letter.

Properties Panel

The properties panel appears below the feature tree and shows editable fields for whatever is currently selected. The content changes depending on the selection:

  • Project — name, units, safe Z, operation clearance Z, clamp clearances, machine selection.
  • Grid — extent, major/minor spacing, snap increment, visibility.
  • Stock — width, height, thickness, color, visibility.
  • Origin — Z position, visibility, preset buttons (Top Left, Center Top, Bottom Left).
  • Backdrop — image, opacity, width, height, angle, visibility.
  • Feature — name, operation (add/subtract), folder, Z Top, Z Bottom, visibility, locked, constraints.
  • Tab — name, Z Top, Z Bottom, visibility.
  • Clamp — name, Z Top (height), visibility.

Numeric fields accept direct input. Press Enter to commit or Escape to cancel. Values outside the allowed range are rejected and the field resets.

Expanding a Panel

An expand button in the panel header opens the same fields in a larger, multi-column modal. This is handy when a feature or operation has many parameters — you see everything at once instead of scrolling the narrow side panel. Close the modal to return to the docked panel; edits are the same either way. The CAM panel has the same expand button.

screenshots/interface-panel-expand.png
Properties panel expanded into the multi-column modal via the header expand button

CAM Panel

The CAM panel on the right side of the application has two tabs: Operations and Tools.

The Operations tab lists all machining operations and shows the selected operation's parameters. The Tools tab manages the project's tool library.

Like the properties panel, the CAM panel has an expand button that opens the operation parameters in a wider multi-column modal — useful for parameter-heavy operations such as 3D Surface Finish.

See Operations and Tool Library for full details.

Canvas Workflow Panels

Multi-step tools (Cut, Join, Move, Copy, Rotate, Resize, Mirror, Offset, Constraint, anchor-based shape creation, text and origin placement) drive a small floating workflow panel that anchors to the canvas while the tool is active. Each panel shows the current step (anchor → reference → distance, etc.), inline dimension inputs, and explicit Dimensions, Confirm, and Cancel buttons.

Workflow panels replace the previous floating dimension-input and banner overlays. The panel can be dragged to a comfortable spot on the canvas; the canvas regains focus after every panel action or dialog close, so keyboard shortcuts keep working without clicking back in.

Tablet Shell

On a tablet or touch device, PureCut CNC automatically switches to a tablet shell layout that replaces the desktop toolbar rail with three purpose-built command surfaces:

SurfaceWhat it contains
Top Command BarFile operations, undo/redo, view tabs, zoom controls, and the snap popover.
Tool RailA 48 px vertical rail along the left edge with creation and edit tools (rect, circle, polygon, composite, text, copy, move, rotate, resize, offset, join, cut, constraint).
Snap PopoverA single button that opens a popover with the snap toggle and all snap type checkboxes — replaces the seven individual snap buttons used on desktop.
Left DrawerThe Feature Tree / Properties column slides in as a drawer with a scrim, mirroring the right-side CAM drawer pattern. Tap the left edge tab to open, tap the scrim or close button to dismiss.
Axis Lock ButtonReplaces the desktop axis-lock chip with a persistent toggle button suited to touch.

Panel resize dividers and the workspace toolbar-position controls are hidden on tablet since the layout is fixed. Desktop layouts are unchanged.

screenshots/interface-tablet-shell.png
Tablet shell on an iPad — top command bar, left tool rail, snap popover open, and the Operations drawer pulled out from the right

Touch Gestures

GestureAction
One-finger drag on empty canvasPan the view (instead of starting a marquee select).
One-finger drag on a feature or tool affordanceStandard drag — moves the node, places the next point, etc.
Two-finger panPan the view.
PinchZoom in and out around the gesture centroid.
Long-press (500 ms)Open the context menu at the touch point.

The CAM panel is renamed Operations on tablet and shows an operation-count badge on its drawer tab. The application supports tablet shell on both iOS Safari and Android Chrome browsers, and on tablet-form Windows / iPadOS native builds.

Working Views

Three view tabs appear at the top of the canvas area. All three stay in sync with the same project state — switching views does not lose any work.

Sketch

The primary drawing surface. Draw and edit geometry, inspect 2D toolpath projections, check snapping and feature ordering. Most of the work happens here. See Sketch View.

3D View

A live 3D preview of the model built from the feature tree using CSG (Constructive Solid Geometry). Toolpaths are rendered as colored lines over the stock. Use the mouse to orbit, zoom, and pan. See 3D View.

Simulation

A voxel-based material removal simulation. Watch the tool move through the stock and verify that pockets, tabs, islands, and carving behavior match expectations before cutting. See Simulation.