Drawing Tools Overview
All drawing tools are in the left toolbar rail. Click a tool button to activate it — the button highlights to show it is active. Click the same button again, or press Escape, to cancel the active tool without placing a shape.
Every shape you place becomes a feature in the feature tree. After placement, select the feature to edit its properties (name, operation, Z Top, Z Bottom) in the properties panel.
Creation Target & Line Mode
Before you draw, the toggle at the top of the drawing group sets the creation target — what kind of feature the next shape becomes. The same drawing tools are used for every target:
- Create features — normal Add/Subtract sketch features (the default).
- Create lines — the dedicated line drawing mode.
- Create regions — Region area filters for CAM, not material.
- Create construction — reference-only construction geometry that never generates toolpaths.
In Create lines mode, the geometry you draw is placed as a Line feature — a non-solid path that stays out of the 3D solid model. Line features feed straight into the Engrave (follow line) operation, and closed Line profiles are also eligible for V-Carve Offset and V-Carve Medial. Use it for centerlines, decorative paths, and lettering strokes you want to carve or engrave rather than cut out.
Rectangle
Click the Rectangle tool in the toolbar. Click once on the canvas to place the first corner, then click again to set the opposite corner. While dragging, dimension readouts appear on the canvas showing the current width and height.
You can type a dimension value while placing to lock it to an exact size. The rectangle is placed as an axis-aligned shape. After placement, use the resize or rotate tools to change its orientation.
Circle
Click the Circle tool in the toolbar. Click to place the center, then drag outward to set the radius. The radius is shown as a dimension readout while dragging.
Circles are stored as native circle geometry (not approximated as polygons), which gives clean toolpaths for pocket and edge route operations.
Ellipse
Click the Ellipse tool in the toolbar. Click once on the canvas to place the first corner of the bounding box, then click again to set the opposite corner. The ellipse is inscribed in that bounding box — its width and height are independent. Dimension readouts appear while dragging.
Type a dimension value while placing to lock the width or height to an exact size. Ellipses are stored as native curve geometry; toolpaths for pocket, edge route, and V-carve operations follow the true curve rather than a polygon approximation.
Polygon
Click the Polygon tool in the toolbar. Click to place each vertex. Each click adds a new point. When you have placed all the vertices you need:
- Click the first point again to close the polygon as a closed profile, or
- Press Enter to complete as an open path (useful for engrave operations), or
- Press Backspace to undo the last point.
A polygon requires at least 2 points. Closed profiles can be used for pocket, edge route, V-carve, and surface clean operations. Open paths can be used for engrave operations.
Spline
Click the Spline tool in the toolbar. Click to place control points. The spline is a smooth closed curve that passes through all the placed points using Catmull-Rom interpolation. Complete the spline the same way as a polygon — click the first point to close, press Enter to finish as an open path, or press Backspace to undo the last point.
After placement, you can enter sketch edit mode to adjust individual control points and their handles. See Editing Features.
Composite Path
The Composite tool lets you draw a path made of mixed segment types — straight lines, arcs, and spline curves — in a single feature.
Click to place points. Use the segment mode buttons in the toolbar to switch between Line, Arc, and Spline modes while drawing. The mode applies to the segment being drawn from the last placed point.
To finish the path:
- Click the first point to close the path as a closed profile.
- Press Enter to complete as an open path (for engrave operations).
- Press Backspace to undo the last segment.
- Press Escape to cancel.
Text
Click the Text tool to open the Text Tool dialog. Configure the text content, style (skeleton or outline), font, and size, then click Place. Click on the canvas to position the text.
Text is stored as an editable feature — you can change the text content, font, and style at any time without re-drawing. See Text Features for full details.
More Shapes
Beyond the primary shapes, the shape picker includes a set of additional parametric shapes. Each places a closed feature you can edit afterward in the properties panel or in sketch edit mode.
Slot
Draws an obround (rounded-end) slot. Click the first end point, then the second to set the slot's length and direction; the slot is built around that centerline with semicircular caps. Useful for fastener slots and adjustment cutouts.
Regular Polygon
Draws an equal-sided polygon (triangle, pentagon, hexagon, …) from a center point and radius. Set the number of sides in the dialog. Unlike the freeform Polygon tool, every side and angle is uniform.
Gear
Draws an involute spur gear as an editable closed profile. Click a center point, then click to set the outside radius (or type it in), and the Set gear parameters panel opens. Set the tooth count, module, pressure angle, and the profile details (whole depth, tooth flank, root and crest form, root fillet, and an optional bore), then confirm. The result is a normal feature you can machine like any other closed shape.
Rounded Rectangle
Draws a rectangle with rounded corners. Place it like the rectangle tool; the corner radius is editable afterward.
Chamfered Rectangle
Draws a rectangle with beveled (chamfered) corners — a flat cut across each corner instead of a rounded arc.