Toolpaths and Machining: Panelling and Tiling Toolpaths

Carveco Tutorial: Tiling and Panel Toolpaths for Large Projects

This tutorial shows you how to machine oversized designs on smaller CNC machines using the Panel Toolpath feature in Carveco Maker Plus. Learn how to break up a design into manageable pieces, prepare your artwork, and export toolpaths for panel-by-panel machining.

🔹 Set Up Your Model for Tiling

• Create a new model sized to your final full design (e.g. 96" × 48").
• Set origin to bottom-left to avoid tiling errors.
• Import your bitmap image and scale it to fit your workspace.

🔹 Trace the Design

• Use Bitmap To Vector to generate vectors from your image.
• Reduce colors to 2 (black and white) and select the appropriate color to trace.
• Inspect and adjust vectors if needed using Vector Doctor.

🔹 Create and Limit a V-Bit Carving Toolpath

• Select a V-bit tool (e.g., 1.25", 90°) and click Refresh to preview depth.
• Use Vector Doctor to fix intersections before calculating.
• Set a maximum cut depth to suit your material (e.g., 0.25").

🔹 Split the Toolpath Using Panels

• Open Panel Toolpaths from the Toolpaths menu.
• Set desired panel size (e.g., 12" × 12") and select Create Regular Panels.
• Optional: Enable Overcut to eliminate ridge artifacts at edges.
• Preview panels and display toolpaths for each individually.

🔹 Export and Organize Toolpaths

• Click Display Panel Info to view and print panel layout sheets.
• Use Save Panel Toolpaths to generate individual NC files.
• Machine each panel using the matching file and assemble them post-machining.