cncArtistcncArtist for Mac, iPad and iPhone
Design.Cut.Done.
CNC design and cutting software that checks every line of G-code before the bit moves.
The film
Thirty seconds.
Every cut.
How it works
Five steps.
One straight line.
- 1MaterialPick the board and the species. The preview takes on that wood's grain and color.
- 2DesignDraw, type, or bring in SVG, DXF, PDF, Illustrator, EPS, images and STL or OBJ models.
- 3ToolpathsV-carve, pocket, profile, inlay and 3D. cncArtist checks that your bit clears its holder.
- 4PreviewThe simulator cuts the whole job in wood first, with a run time that learns from your real cuts.
- 5ExportChecked G-code for your machine, plus a setup sheet you can print or open on your phone.
Simulator
Every line checked.
cncArtist runs the finished G-code, the file your machine will actually read, through the simulator before you press start.
Checks for:
- Cuts deeper than the board, or into the spoilboard
- Rapid moves through the material
- Holder or collet hitting the work
- Moves outside your machine's travel
Real wood.
Real grain.
Preview your cut in the species you'll use. Walnut, maple, cherry and oak each have their own grain, so what you see is what comes off the machine.
Features
Every kind of cut,
in one app.
3D pieces, ready to carve.
Drop in a relief, size it to your board, and cncArtist roughs and finishes it. Bring your own STL or OBJ too.
Inlays that fit.
Male and female parts are cut from one design, so the plug seats tight.
Two-sided jobs.
Flip the board on guided registration and carve the back to match the front.
Longer than your bed.
Tiling splits a long sign into sections that line up across the joins.
Rotary.
Wrap a design around a cylinder for candles, handles and turnings.
Topo maps.
Pick a place, and cncArtist builds the relief from real elevation data.
Holder check.
Before a deep pocket, cncArtist checks the collet and nut clear the walls, not only the bit.
Times that learn.
Run-time estimates compare against your real cuts and get closer every job.
Nesting.
Pack parts onto the sheet to waste less wood, with tabs that hold each one in place.
Laser, too.
A GRBL laser post engraves and cuts from the same design you route.
Sculpt by hand.
Build up, take away, smooth, smear and erase back to the original, right on the relief. Extrude, two-rail sweeps, fades and tilt are there too.
Shaper Origin.
Export an SVG the Origin reads as-is: cut depths, inside and outside cuts, pockets and guides, color-coded the Shaper way.
Picture to 3D.
Turn a photo into a carving. An on-device depth model works out what's near and far, and lifts the subject off its background. Nothing leaves your Mac or iPad.
Apple Pencil.
On iPad, press harder to carve deeper and tilt for a broader brush. Draw curves with the pen, then add, delete or smooth any point.
Made for everyone.
VoiceOver reads every shape on the canvas, with its size and position. Text grows with your settings, and every color passes contrast checks.
At the machine
Guided at the machine.
Your phone becomes the shop-floor screen. Big type, one step at a time, readable from across the shop.
Guided zeroing.
X, Y and Z, one step at a time, with your touch plate's thickness remembered.
Broken bit? Restart.
Pick up from the line where the cut stopped, not from the top of the file.
Setup sheet.
Tools, zero point and material on one page, in your pocket.
Made with cncArtist
Start from something good.
8 sample projects and 20 templates, each one simulated in real wood.
Machines
Ready for your machine.
Pick your maker and model, and cncArtist sets the bed size, Z travel, safe height and post for you. Seventeen router posts, a laser post and Shaper Origin SVG, with tool changes, rotary and units set the way each controller expects.
44 machines, picked by name: Avid CNC, Axiom, BobsCNC, Carbide 3D, Inventables, Laguna, Makera, Maslow, Next Wave, Onefinity, OpenBuilds, SainSmart, Sequoyatec, Shaper Tools, ShopBot and Sienci Labs. Not listed? Start from a generic GRBL, grblHAL, FluidNC, Mach3, Masso or DSP setup.
Switching from Aspire
Coming from Aspire?
Here's the honest version.
cncArtist has a built-in Switching from Aspire guide that maps the tools you know to where they live here, and walks you through bringing your designs over.
What comes with you
- Vectors from File › Export Vectors, as DXF or SVG, with your layers, arcs, open vectors and text counters intact. A unitless DXF comes in at your units, so inches stay inches
- PDF, Illustrator and EPS files
- Images, traced to vectors
- 3D models as STL or OBJ, exported from Aspire's modeling tab
- Your Vectric tool database (.vtdb), plus Fusion JSON and CSV bit libraries
- Your machine, picked from the list above
What doesn't, yet
- Vectric .crv and .crv3d files are closed formats. Open one and cncArtist tells you exactly what to export instead
- Saved Vectric toolpaths. You rebuild them in cncArtist from the same vectors and bits
- Windows. cncArtist runs on Mac, iPad and iPhone
Learn
Your first cut,
taught inside the app.
Lessons, from first board to two-sided carving.
Pages of manual, searchable from any screen.
Sample projects, ready to simulate and cut.
Templates that ask a few questions and build the job.
Pricing
Free to download.
$299 once to cut without limits.
Design and simulate as much as you like. Your first three jobs export free, so you can see a real cut come off your own machine. Then one purchase unlocks cncArtist on Mac, iPad and iPhone. No subscription. Commercial use included.
Cut 3 jobs free.
Every design tool, every simulation, and G-code for your first three jobs. No card, no time limit.
Once. Everywhere.
Unlimited export on Mac, iPad and iPhone with one purchase. Free 1.x updates. Family Sharing.
Launch price $249 until 11:59 pm on Thursday, Dec 31, 2026.
No subscription.
Pay once, cut forever. A paid major version every few years, with an owner upgrade price, like the tools you already trust.
| Software | Price | Model | Native Mac | iPad |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| cncArtist | $299 | One-time | Yes | Yes |
| Vectric Cut2D / VCarve Desktop / VCarve Pro / Aspire | $149 / $349 / $699 / $1,995 | Perpetual | No | No |
| Carbide Create Pro | $120 a year, or $360 once | Both | Yes | No |
| Easel Pro | $24 a month, $216 a year | Subscription | Web | Web |
| Carveco Maker / Maker Plus | $180 / $600 a year | Subscription | No | No |
| Fusion Personal | Free, no commercial use | Free / paid | Yes | No |
Competitor prices as listed by their makers in October 2026 and may change.
cncArtist
Design. Cut. Done. Coming soon for Mac, iPad and iPhone. Free to download.
Free to download. $299 once to cut without limits. Your first three jobs are free.