What's new

New features and bug fixes in the free laser, CNC and 3D printing tools, newest first. We work on the tools every day; this page shows what changed. Something not working, or a tool you wish existed? Tell us in the Facebook group.

Friday 23 October 2026

New

• V-Bit Carving Studio: The 3D view now shows the real carve, with every groove cut down into the board and lit so you can see its depth before you cut. (you asked for this)
• V-Bit Carving Studio: More bits and jobs: surfacing the board, round-over, ogee and chamfer edges, drilled holes, keyhole slots on the back for hanging, flutes, pockets and cut-outs with tabs. (you asked for this)
• V-Bit Carving Studio: Carve a 3D relief from your own STL, OBJ or depth map, with a roughing pass and a ball-nose finish. (you asked for this)
• V-Bit Carving Studio: Inlay mode: V-carve, flat-bottom or epoxy inlays, with the pocket and plug files, a fit test, and a preview of the two woods glued and planed. (you asked for this)

Fixed

• V-Bit Carving Studio: Lots of smaller fixes: a download made right after a change now always has your latest design, inch and mm sizes no longer drift, and the phone preview no longer stretches. (you asked for this)

Thursday 22 October 2026

New

• 3D Slice Sculpture Maker: A new tool that turns a shape or a word into a slot-together sculpture of plywood or card slices, with a step-by-step Assemble animation and files for LightBurn, SVG and DXF.
• 3D Slice Sculpture Maker: Folded panels turn a 3D shape into flat card nets to cut, score and glue, with every glue edge numbered.
• 3D Slice Sculpture Maker: Word Shelf puts your word or phrase between shelf boards, standing or on the wall, and splits a long phrase into two rows so the letters stay big enough to read.
• 3D Slice Sculpture Maker: Two words, two sides crosses the letters of two words, so the sculpture reads one word from the front and the other from the side.
• 3D Slice Sculpture Maker: Fine-tune the slices by hand: turn them, change the angle between the two sets, or click a slice in 3D to move, add or delete it, with Back to undo.
• Layered Cutouts: Lake & coast maps now go up to about 600 km across, so a whole island like Vancouver Island fits on one map, towns labelled.
• Layered Cutouts: Mountains on lake & coast maps: the land rises in layers too, wherever it has real hills.
• Coin Maker: Raised letters now have flat tops with a small chamfer, so they print and carve cleanly (Straight, Bevel and Round are still there).
• 3D Slice Sculpture Maker: Arrange & paint: tap any letter or part to drag it, resize it or change its font, then paint it with stains, colours or metallics. One-click looks (Farmhouse, Modern, Kids) and a Product photo for your listings. (you asked for this)
• 3D Slice Sculpture Maker: Coat and key racks: your name in raised letters on a backboard with hooks that slot through and lock, for coats, keys, leashes, hats or towels. (you asked for this)
• 3D Slice Sculpture Maker: A light inside: spheres, eggs and vases can hold a tea light or LED puck, with a glow preview. Plus word bookends.
• Street Map Maker: Choose how thick the roads are: Thin, Normal or Bold, or set each kind (motorways, main roads, streets, paths, rail, rivers) under Customise more, and hide any you don't want. Cut-out maps never go too thin to hold together. (you asked for this)
• Layered Cutouts: Road weights on lake & coast maps too: Thin, Normal or Bold, with a slider for each kind of road.
• All tools: Every tool page now explains what you can edit, which files you get, and how to ask for a feature you need.
• Word Sign Maker: A new "Make it a 3D word sculpture" button sends your words straight to the 3D Slice Sculpture Maker.
• All tools: A row of quick buttons sits right under the preview (shape, font, size, colour and more), so you can change the design without scrolling away from it, even in full screen. (you asked for this)
• All tools: Press and hold on the preview (or right-click on a computer) for a menu of what you can do with that part: colour, size, move, remix, or Random and Copy link for the whole design. (you asked for this)
• All tools: Pinch with two fingers (or Ctrl + scroll) to zoom into flat previews; double-tap to zoom back out.

Fixed

• Christmas Ornament Maker: Round photos are cut round automatically, in the 3D preview and in the print file, so no square corners show behind the window. (you asked for this)
• Coin Maker: Hockey sticks now have proper flat ice hockey blades. (you asked for this)
• 3D Slice Sculpture Maker: Shelves are sturdy now, with end panels and a back on every row. (you asked for this)
• 3D Slice Sculpture Maker: Two words, two sides reads cleanly from the front and the side, straight on. (you asked for this)
• 3D Slice Sculpture Maker: Long shelf phrases split into rows so the letters are big enough to read. (you asked for this)
• 3D Slice Sculpture Maker: Shelves are sturdier, with end panels, a back or rail on every row and stronger tabs.
• 3D Slice Sculpture Maker: In Two words, two sides, the front and side views now face you straight on, so both words read clearly.

Wednesday 21 October 2026

New

• Halloween Yard Maker: A new tool for tombstones, ghosts, pumpkins and a reaching hand to stand in the yard, with ground stakes and a night-time yard preview.
• Christmas Ornament Maker: Character ornaments: a reindeer, snowman, Santa, puppy, kitten or moose face, cut in layers, with the name big and bold on the front.
• Layered Cutouts: Lake & coast maps: pick any lake, bay or coast and get stepped water layers with roads, town names, a compass and a title, plus a colour guide for painting.
• All tools: Random, Remix, Back and Copy link now sit in the same row under the preview on every tool, so a look you like is always one tap from being shared or undone.
• All tools: On phones the picture is taller and stays in view while you change settings, and ⛶ opens it full screen.
• All tools: A loading card with a few laser-shop jokes shows while a tool gets ready, so you know it is working.
• Coin Maker: Smoother STL files: no spikes, a clean rope rim and stars with straight ridges.
• Halloween Yard Maker: The cut file fits on one sheet when it can, big pieces split over several sheets with a pager, and a 3D view shows the piece standing in the yard.

Fixed

• Christmas Ornament Maker: Every Random and Remix scene now reads at a glance, with solid silhouettes and dark names on pale layers.
• Christmas Ornament Maker: Names on character ornaments keep their loops open once cut, and the "e" in the rounded letter style no longer closes up.
• All tools: Full screen now fills the whole window instead of a thin strip.
• Halloween Yard Maker: In the 3D view the words no longer show mirrored through the back of the tombstone: the back is plain stone with its stakes.
• Homepage: The Tumbler Wrap clip starts with the design facing you, not the blank back of the cup.

Tuesday 20 October 2026

New

• Tumbler Wrap Maker: Arrange by hand: select, move, resize, turn or delete anything on the wrap; a name you drop stays put and the others make room.
• Image to Outline: Edit lines: select, delete or move parts of the outline, smooth or simplify them, and undo, with zoom for small details.
• Image to Outline: Crisper outlines with sharp corners, straight edges and far fewer nodes, and a frame round the picture is left out unless you want it.
• Pet Tag Maker: 25 more pictures, 10 more borders, background patterns, a name that curves round the tag, 6 more letter styles, and Copy link to share a design.
• Coin Maker: Put a photo relief from Image to Depth Map on a coin or plaque; your own art is cropped to fit automatically.
• Image to Depth Map: Four clear steps, a choice of machine, quick "How does it look?" fixes, and "Show me 3 versions" to compare.
• Free tools: Pick your machine (laser, CNC or 3D printer) to see only the tools that suit it.
• Homepage: A Popular tools grid, and walkthrough videos in the Ornament, Monogram, Tumbler Wrap and Word Sign tools.

Fixed

• All tools: The description under a tool no longer jumps down the page while the tool loads.
• Christmas Ornament Maker: The scene stays the same while you type the name.
• Pet Tag Maker: The bones scene draws proper bones with round ends.

Monday 19 October 2026

New

• Coin Maker: A new tool for challenge coins and medallions in 3D, with raised lettering, a picture in the middle and STL, height map or depth slice files.
• Plaque & Memorial Maker: House signs and memorial plaques in 3D from the same tool, with Arrange by hand to move, resize and turn each part.
• Tumbler Wrap Maker: Mark a logo that is already on the cup, and the design keeps clear of it.
• Image to Outline: Clean up the lettering: the tool finds the words in your logo and swaps the wobbly traced letters for a clean matching font.

Fixed

• Image to Outline: Small writing on logos is kept when the background is removed.
• Photo Test Chart: The labels now burn at the chart's strongest setting, so they always show.
• Free tools: Three tools have clearer names: Lithophane Generator, Kerf & Fit Test and Tumbler Wrap Maker.

Sunday 18 October 2026

New

• Pet Tag Maker: A new tool for pet ID tags with the name, phone number, a picture or a scene, on the tag blank you have.
• Photo Test Chart: A new tool that burns a grid of photo settings, so you can pick the square that looks best and fine-tune around it.
• All tools: Glowforge models are in the laser list, and the tools offer the SVG instead of a LightBurn file it can't open.
• Image to Depth Map: A thin-base STL option for fiber relief engraving in EzCad3.

Fixed

• Word Sign Maker: The two decoration styles in layered signs, window and cut-out disc, now look clearly different. (you asked for this)
• Name Pendants: Accented names render properly, end loops sit where they should, and letters no longer break on stainless. (you asked for this)
• Tumbler Wrap Maker: The "Height" slider is now "Picture size", which says what it really does.

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