Quick start: your first cut — cncfoam.com Wiki

A two-minute walkthrough: open cncfoam.com, load a shape, set your machine and foam size, press play, and watch your first simulated hot-wire foam cut — then download the G-code.

This guide gets you from a blank screen to a simulated cut in a couple of minutes. You do not need an account, a machine, or any files of your own to follow along.

1. Open the tool

Go to cncfoam.com. You will see a 3D viewport with a wireframe box (your machine envelope) and a faint inner box (your foam block).

2. Load a shape

Click ＋ Load parts in the top bar. You can:

Pick a single part and choose an SVG or DXF outline (the tool repeats it on both ends of the wire), or
Pick two-part morph and choose a different profile for each end (for tapered/twisted shapes), or
Use the ✨ AI button to generate a shape (aerofoil, duct, column, star, ellipse) from a few clicks.

No file handy? The AI generator is the fastest way to get something on screen.

3. Set your machine & foam size

On the left status panel, set your Material block X/Y/Z size to match the foam you will actually cut, and in ⚙ Settings → Machine settings set your Cutter size (the machine envelope) and your Machine type (2/3/4/5-axis). Defaults are fine for a first look.

4. Set cut settings

In the left panel under Cut settings, pick your Material (e.g. EPS), which auto-suggests a Feedrate (how fast the wire moves) and Pre-heat (a pause so the wire reaches temperature before it moves). You can fine-tune both. See Cut settings.

5. Press play

Hit ▶ Play (or the spacebar). Watch the wire trace the path and the solid foam preview build up. Use the Speed selector to fast-forward long cuts, and drag the scrub bar to jump around. The status panel shows the live wire position, the total cut time and the contour length.

Read the previews. The floating X/Y and U/V "block side" windows show the profile on each tower face, and the G-code viewer shows the exact commands being generated. They are the fastest way to confirm the cut is doing what you expect.

6. Get the cut to your machine

When it looks right, click ↓ G-code to download the file, or use 🔌 USB / 📡 Wi-Fi to stream it to a connected controller. See Transports.

7. (Optional) Save & share

Create a free account to save named projects, and use 📤 Publish to share a shape to the community library. See Accounts & the library.

That is the whole loop: design → simulate → cut. From here, dig into foam materials, safety, or the Object bar to start shaping real parts.