See the cut before you make it
Material-removal simulation in 3D with playback and a time estimate per tool. Catch a missed tab or a too-deep pocket on screen, not in your walnut.
CNC router and laser software
Design, toolpaths, 3D simulation and machine control for hobby CNC routers and lasers. Nothing to install.
Every step lives in the same project, so a change to the design flows straight through to toolpaths, simulation and the machine.
Draw shapes, paths and text, or drop in an SVG, DXF, PDF, LightBurn file, photo or STL. Snapping, dimensions and undo work the way you expect.
Oak · 300 × 200 × 18 mmChoose outline, fill, V-carve, drill or 3D for each object, or cut, score and engrave with a laser. Feeds and speeds come from your bit, material and spindle.
Fill 3 mm deep · Ø6 flatGenerate toolpaths and watch the material come away in 3D, with a time estimate for every bit before you touch the machine.
2 stages · ≈ 18 minSend the job to your machine over USB or the network, or download the G-code. The job pauses for each bit change and waits for you.
Stage 2 · change to 60° V-bitThe operations of professional CAM, arranged so a first-time CNC owner can use them and an experienced one isn’t held back.
Material-removal simulation in 3D with playback and a time estimate per tool. Catch a missed tab or a too-deep pocket on screen, not in your walnut.
A built-in engine works out RPM, feed, depth and stepover from chip load, spindle power and tool deflection, for your exact bit, material and machine.
Example recommendation. You can override any value per bit.
From simple outlines to V-carved inlays and 3D reliefs, all generated in the background while you keep working. Afterwards, edit the result: delete, reorder, reverse or move individual passes.
Sketch on a plane, dimension it, then extrude, cut, revolve, sweep or loft. The history tree keeps every step editable and named parameters drive the whole part. When it is right, carve it as a 3D relief, or cut its outline or any slice of it as ordinary toolpaths.
Text in DXF and SVG files arrives as editable text, PDF text as outlines, and hatches and clipping masks are applied. Out comes G-code with arc fitting for GRBL, grblHAL, FluidNC, Marlin, Smoothieware or LinuxCNC: one file per bit, or one file with tool-change pauses. Designs export to SVG and DXF, shop drawings to print or PDF.
Autosave to the cloud with version history, templates, folders and tags, a stored copy of every export, and your own library of bits, materials and machines on any computer. Share a read-only link or publish to the gallery: viewers get the design, its layers and the 3D simulation, and can download only if you allow it.
Laser mode
Switch a project to laser mode and every object gets power, speed and passes instead of bits and depths.
MeldCNC writes dynamic-power G-code for diode and CO₂ lasers on GRBL controllers and checks your controller before anything fires. Built-in heads for 5 to 40 W diode and 40 to 60 W CO₂ lasers, with material presets for plywood, MDF, hardwood, acrylic, leather and card. Add your own module to any machine profile.
A calibrated camera with lens correction shows the material under your design, so parts land on offcuts. Print and Cut lines cut-outs up with printed sheets using two to four registration marks, and text can carry serial numbers, dates or names from a CSV file.
Start the job from the stock corner, a saved origin or wherever the head is now. Frame the outline before you burn, and fire a short low-power test pulse to check where the beam lands.
Open LightBurn projects with their layers, sub-layers, images and cut settings, or import PDF, Illustrator, SVG and basic EPS files. Laser-only machine profiles get you started on popular engravers.
Joints, boxes, layouts, cut lists, calibration and costs: the work that usually happens on paper or in another program.
Parametric joints and boxes linked to material thickness and fit clearance. Measure a new sheet, type the thickness once, and every slot and tenon updates.
Parametric generators behind the Apps & wizards button: pick one, set a few sizes, and it inserts finished parts with the cuts already chosen. Slots and tabs follow your material thickness. A search box at the top of the Apps dialog finds a generator by name or purpose, and the sections fold into an accordion.
Nest parts across several sheets, with small parts dropped into the holes of bigger ones. Print a shop drawing and cut list, and see material use, cost and a selling price for every job.
Tile a long part into sections and slide the board between them. Dowel holes at the side edges, along the seam or both line every section up again; in spoilboard-grid mode the dowels drop straight into your spoilboard’s holes.
Wizards measure what the spec sheet can’t: how wide your bit really cuts, how loose a joint should be, and whether the machine is square.
MeldCNC fills in the settings a beginner doesn’t know yet and flags the ones that could break a bit.
New shapes get a 3 mm fill, text a 2 mm fill and lines an on-path outline. Change any of it later.
You get a warning when a cut is deeper than the bit can reach, a shank won’t fit the collet, or the design is bigger than the work area. Oversized work is tiled for you.
The design check marks corners the bit can’t reach, slots narrower than the bit and parts too thin to survive, right on the canvas. Draw a clamp zone and toolpaths stay clear of it.
200 steps of undo, autosave every few seconds, version history to go back to any earlier save, offline drafts, and a conflict warning if the project was changed on another computer.
Work in millimetres or inches and set the work origin at any corner or the centre, with Z zero on the stock top or the spoilboard.
Press Ctrl K for every command and tool by name. A guided tour shows new users around, and the app speaks English, Slovenian and German.
Machine control
A complete G-code sender runs in the same browser tab. No separate program, no copying files onto a stick.
USB control uses Web Serial in Chrome, Edge or Opera on desktop; connections through the server bridge also work in other browsers. Over USB and direct network links the G-code goes straight from your browser to the machine; the server only relays it when you choose the server bridge or MeldLink.
What ran, what it cost, which bit needs sharpening and who changed what: the records a workshop needs, kept next to the projects.
Every job is logged with its machine, bits, material and outcome; add notes and photos. The dashboard shows machine hours, success rate, hours per machine and bit, and material used. Air cuts are listed separately.
Cutting time per bit comes from real runs, with a reminder before a bit reaches the end of its life and a history of every sharpening. The cost panel adds material, machine time and bit wear, and suggests a price per part.
Team workspaces with owner, admin, editor and viewer roles. One shared library of bits, materials, machines, templates and macros; when two people edit the same item, MeldCNC asks how to merge instead of overwriting.
Share a read-only link or publish to the gallery, and talk about a design in comments that update live and pin to the canvas. Email notifications arrive instantly, as a daily digest or not at all. When a job fails, an error report collects what’s needed to find out why.
The community lives inside the app: finished projects, questions and tips from people who run the same machines and cut the same wood.
Browse the communityPost a finished piece, ask a question or write up a tip, with photos pasted straight in, emoji and simple formatting. Link the project it came from and pick a licence for the files you share.
Upvote what helped. The person who asked marks the answer that solved it, and unanswered questions have a list of their own.
Reply in threads, @mention someone and follow people, posts or tags. Every profile has an avatar and a short bio. New replies ring the bell in the app; email arrives instantly, as a daily digest or not at all.
Copy a shared project into your own when the author allows it, with credit to the original kept on the copy. Or ask the author to work on it with you.
Posts, comments, tags and people in one box, with suggestions as you type. It finds parts of words and part numbers and doesn’t mind missing accents. Filter by category, solved, attached files or date.
Photos are re-encoded and lose their location data; SVG, DXF, STL and G-code files are checked before anyone can download them. Anyone can report a post or mute and block a person, and moderators review every report.
Pick your model and MeldCNC knows its travel, speed limits, rigidity and spindle or laser options. Anything else running GRBL 1.1, grblHAL or FluidNC works with a custom profile you set up in a minute.
| Machine | Work area X × Y × Z | Motion | Controller | 4th axis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XE-Ultra 8080 | 840 × 840 × 120 | HG15 rails, ball screws, closed-loop NEMA 23 | 32-bit GRBL 1.1h | Port reserved |
| XE-Ultra Core | 440 × 440 × 120 | HG15 rails, ball screws, closed-loop NEMA 23 | 32-bit GRBL 1.1h | Port reserved |
| Masuter Pro Max 2x2 | 600 × 600 × 100 | Belts XY, 500 W brushless spindle | 32-bit GRBL 1.1h | A-axis port |
| Masuter 3S | 400 × 400 × 90 | Belts XY, HG15 Z, closed-loop NEMA 23 | 8-bit GRBL 1.1h | Rotary via Y |
| Masuter 3S + 8040 | 800 × 400 × 90 | Belts XY, HG15 Z, closed-loop NEMA 23 | 8-bit GRBL 1.1h | Rotary via Y |
| XE-PRO | 400 × 400 × 95 | Ball screws, closed-loop NEMA 23 | 8-bit GRBL 1.1 | Rotary via Y |
| XE-PRO + 8040 | 800 × 400 × 95 | Ball screws, rails on X, closed-loop NEMA 23 | 8-bit GRBL 1.1 | Rotary via Y |
| Masuter Pro | 380 × 380 × 50 | Belts XY, rail + lead screw Z | 32-bit GRBL 1.1h | Rotary via Y |
| Masuter Pro + 4080 | 380 × 800 × 50 | Belts XY, rail + lead screw Z | 32-bit GRBL 1.1h | Rotary via Y |
| Vasto V2 final sale | 400 × 400 × 100 | Dual HG15 rails, ball screws, closed-loop | GRBL 1.1 | Rotary via Y |
| Vasto XL V2 final sale | 600 × 600 × 100 | Dual HG15 rails, ball screws, closed-loop | GRBL 1.1 | Rotary via Y |
| CL-4x4 final sale | 1220 × 1220 × 100 | Linear rails, ball screws, closed-loop NEMA 23 | GRBL 1.1 | Rotary via Y |
| Masuter 3 final sale | 400 × 400 × 90 | Belts XY, rail Z | GRBL 1.1 | Rotary via Y |
| Vasto final sale | 400 × 400 × 100 | Dual HG15 rails, ball screws, open-loop | GRBL 1.1 | None |
| Vasto XL final sale | 600 × 600 × 100 | Dual HG15 rails, ball screws, open-loop | GRBL 1.1 | None |
| Vasto XXL final sale | 1000 × 1000 × 100 | Dual HG15 rails, ball screws, open-loop | GRBL 1.1 | None |
| 4040-XE discontinued | 400 × 400 × 70 | Belts XY, open-loop NEMA 23 | 8-bit GRBL 1.1h | None |
| Masuter (original) discontinued | 400 × 380 × 55 | Belts XY, rods on Z | GRBL 1.1 | None |
Carbide 3D Shapeoko 3, 4, 5 Pro and HDM profiles are built in, and so are SainSmart Genmitsu 3018 and 4040. For anything else, create a profile with your travel, feed limits and spindle. The sender drives GRBL, grblHAL, FluidNC, Marlin and Smoothieware boards; LinuxCNC machines get G-code in their own dialect.
Wrap a design around a cylinder on FoxAlien’s rotary kits: Y-wrap output for machines without a 4th-axis port, a true A axis for those with one. The 3D preview turns the part under the bit. Laser jobs wrap the same way.
Fit a diode laser to your router or run a CO₂ machine: add the module to the machine profile with its power, $30 and focus height. Laser-only profiles for xTool, Ortur, Sculpfun and Atomstack engravers open new projects straight in laser mode.
Every plan includes the design editor, simulation, G-code export and machine control.
For trying CNC and personal projects.
$0forever
No card needed
Start freePersonal, non-commercial use.
For makers who sell what they carve.
$8$7.20/ month
Billed monthly$86.40 billed yearly · you save $9.60
Choose MakerCommercial use for one person.
For small shops and teams sharing machines.
$22$19.80/ month
Billed monthly$237.60 billed yearly · you save $26.40
Choose WorkshopCommercial use for the whole team.
Prices in US dollars. EU customers pay VAT at their country’s rate on top. Cancel any time; paid plans keep working until the end of the period.
Can’t find your answer? Send us a message.
No. MeldCNC runs in a current version of Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari on Windows, macOS, Linux or ChromeOS. Heavy work like toolpath generation runs in the background, so the editor stays responsive.
USB control uses the Web Serial API, available in Chrome, Edge and Opera on desktop computers. grblHAL and FluidNC boards on your network can also be driven through the MeldCNC server bridge, which works in other browsers too. Otherwise, download the G-code and run it with your usual sender.
Yes. Profiles for Carbide 3D Shapeoko 3, 4, 5 Pro and HDM and SainSmart Genmitsu 3018 and 4040 machines are built in, and for anything else you create a profile with its travel, feed limits and spindle. The sender drives GRBL 1.1, grblHAL and FluidNC boards directly, and Marlin 2.x and Smoothieware boards through a protocol bridge (pick the firmware next to Connect). LinuxCNC machines get G-code in their own dialect.
Yes, if the laser runs on GRBL-family firmware: a diode module on a CNC router, or a diode or CO₂ laser engraver. Profiles for several xTool, Ortur, Sculpfun and Atomstack engravers are built in. Switch the project to laser mode, pick your head and its full-power value ($30), and MeldCNC writes M4 dynamic-power G-code. The control page checks that laser mode ($32) is on before a job starts. Controllers like Ruida that use their own file formats, and galvo lasers, aren’t supported.
The sender keeps GRBL’s buffer full without overflowing it, checks the machine’s position against the file while the job runs, stops a job with a controlled feed hold before resetting, and pauses on any controller error. You should still stay next to the machine, use its emergency stop, and wear eye and ear protection (laser safety glasses for laser work).
Your designs are always yours. The Hobby plan is for personal use; to sell what you make with MeldCNC, choose Maker (one person) or Workshop (a team).
Pay for twelve months up front and get 10 % off: Maker is $86.40 a year instead of $96, Workshop $237.60 instead of $264. You can switch between monthly and yearly at the next renewal.
Nothing is deleted. Projects beyond the Hobby limit become read-only, and you can still open, simulate and export them.
Yes, for wrapped carving. Design flat on the unwrapped surface, and MeldCNC outputs it on the Y axis (for rotaries that replace the Y motor) or as a true A axis. Laser jobs work the same way with roller and chuck rotaries. Simultaneous 4-axis 3D carving isn’t supported.
Yes. Import SVG, DXF or PDF, including Illustrator files saved with PDF compatibility (the default). Text comes along: as editable text from SVG and DXF, as outlines from PDF. LightBurn projects (.lbrn and .lbrn2) come in with their shapes, images and layer settings as laser operations. Simple EPS files open directly; if one doesn’t, save it as PDF or SVG.
English, Slovenian and German, with decimal commas where your language uses them. This website is available in all three as well.
Yes. Create a team workspace and invite people as owners, admins, editors or viewers. Projects, bits, materials, machines, templates and macros are shared in the team, viewers open projects read-only, and comments update live for everyone.
Create a free account, draw a shape and watch the simulation. It takes about five minutes.