The story behind CNCFOAM.COM
A 4/5-axis hot-wire foam cutter that shipped to the world in 2015, went dormant for nearly a decade, and is back in 2026 as a free online tool that runs in your browser and talks to almost any hot-wire CNC controller.
What is it?
A hot-wire foam cutter drags a heated nichrome wire through a foam block. Both ends of the wire move independently on their own X/Y towers. Because the wire stays straight, every move sweeps a ruled surface — tapered wings, lofted ducts, twisted columns, sculptures, packaging moulds, surfboards, speaker horns. Add a 5th rotating axis and you can do multi-side passes for more freeform shapes.
cncfoam.com is the simulator + controller front-end that drives those machines from a browser tab. Drop a profile, see the cut, stream it.
What's new in 2026
Browser CAM
0-install
Drop two profiles, simulate, stream straight to the machine over USB or Wi-Fi. No Mach3, no DevFoam, no Windows-only chain.
Works with your hardware
ESP32 · RAMPS · GRBL
FluidNC on ESP32 is the reference target, but the tool exports standard 4-axis G-code that an old Mega+RAMPS, GRBL board or anything that eats `G01 X Y U V F` will happily run.
5-axis sane
FluidNC A
The rotation table is a real axis from day one, not a bolt-on hack.
Free for everyone
€0
The tool is free to use, anonymous play included. Save / publish / stream wants a free account; that's it.
Where it is right now
Research preview. The simulator runs end-to-end: G-code parsing, two-profile morph generation, live wire animation, material-block clipping, USB & Wi-Fi streaming. Hardware stack is frozen on paper. Next: ESP32 bench rig running FluidNC, then the first V5 demo build.
2014 — the idea
Pete Scheepens started Foamcube at Fablab013 in Tilburg (NL) during the summer of 2014. Two independent X/Y towers (Left = X,Y, Right = U,V) carry a heated nichrome wire across a foam block. Because the wire stays straight between its endpoints, the machine cuts ruled surfaces. Simple physics, surprisingly powerful machine.
2015 — Kickstarter
A successful 2015 Kickstarter funded the first production run. Roughly 50 units shipped worldwide. The original campaign and FabLabs.io listing are still online:
2016–2018 — V4 and the rotation box
The hardware reached V4 in stainless-plate form: Arduino Mega + RAMPS 1.4 controller, Reprap Discount LCD, SD-card jobs, GRBL-derived firmware, then Pete's own ISR-driven custom firmware for 5-axis support. A bolt-on rotation table added the A-axis, opening the door to indexed multi-side cuts. The machines worked well; the software stack was always the bottleneck — Windows-only, fiddly post-processors, hard to share a finished job.
2018–2025 — pause
Life got in the way. Time, energy and the right ecosystem all needed to line up before the project could go further. The original V4 units stayed in workshops around Europe and kept cutting, but the codebase, the website and the community went quiet.
2026 — Pete retires, the project picks back up
Now retired from his day-to-day businesses, Pete is picking the project back up. The hardware story is much simpler in 2026: ESP32 + FluidNC has replaced the Mega + custom firmware chain, TMC2209 drivers make the motors silent, MGN12 linear rails are cheap and dead-reliable, and modern browsers can talk to USB-Serial straight from a web page. The original frustration — proprietary Windows software, isolated machines, one-off post-processors — is solvable now.
The new direction: a free online tool at cncfoam.com that anyone with a hot-wire cutter can use — whether you bought a Foamcube in 2015, built your own from RAMPS leftovers, or are commissioning a fresh ESP32 build today. Drop your profiles, simulate the cut, send G-code over USB or Wi-Fi. No installer, no licence, no lock-in.
Who it's for
- Hobbyists and RC builders — wings, fairings, props, fuselages.
- Surfboard / paddleboard shapers — blank shaping in foam before glassing.
- Architects and prop makers — columns, mouldings, theatre sets.
- FabLabs and schools — teachable CNC without the dust and danger of router-based cutters.
- 2015 Foamcube owners — finally a modern stack for the machine you already own.