GCarve

Two-sided CNC machining

Pockets on the back, a profile on the front, a double-sided sign: for all of them the board is cut, flipped over and cut again. The second side only lines up if the geometry is mirrored and the board lands in the same place.

1. Mirror the geometry

Seen from the back, everything is mirrored. Vectors that must line up with the first side (the outline, through holes) are copied to the second side flipped about the board's centre line, in the same direction you will flip the board.

2. Register with dowels

Put two holes on the flip axis' centre line, equally far from the middle, and drill them through the board into the spoilboard on side one. After the flip the board drops onto dowels in the same two holes.

3. Order the cuts

Do the side with the most material removal first if you can, keep the final cut-out for last, and hold the part with tabs: by then there is little left to clamp.

How GCarve does it

Vectors ▸ New Back Side adds a second sheet with the selected vectors (or everything) mirrored for a left-to-right or top-to-bottom flip. Each sheet gets its own toolpaths and its own G-code files, and the export check warns if a cut-out without tabs comes before work inside its part.