GCarve

Cut a board longer than your CNC

A 4 ft machine can cut an 8 ft sign. You cut it in sections (tiles), sliding the board along the table between them. The software splits the toolpaths so each section's G-code starts at your normal zero.

1. Set the job up at full size

Draw and toolpath the whole board as if your machine were big enough. Put XY zero at the bottom-left corner of the board.

2. Choose the tile length and overlap

The tile length is how much of the board your machine can reach in one go, less a small margin. The overlap (about 1 in) is cut by both neighbouring tiles so their cuts meet. Each time you move the board by the tile length minus the overlap.

3. Register the board

Accuracy comes from the slide, not from the software. Run the board along a straight fence, and use registration holes or pins a known distance apart so every slide is exactly the same.

4. Cut tile by tile

Each tile has its own G-code files (one per bit). Cut all of tile 1, slide the board, zero as before, cut tile 2, and so on. Where a cut crosses a tile edge the bit lifts there and comes back down at the same spot in the next tile.

How GCarve does it

In the Export dialog tick Tile, type the tile length and overlap, and choose along X or Y. The files are named …_Tile1of3, …_Tile2of3 and each one's header says which part of the board it covers. Every tile goes through the same safety check as a normal export.