Guide · Cut Preflight
How Cut Preflight works
Check a customer SVG or DXF before preparing a laser-cutting quote. Confirm its size, explain what each contour should do, and review the geometry that needs attention.
From customer file to reviewed DXF
- Choose a file. Open an SVG or a supported ASCII or binary DXF, up to 10 MiB. Not every DXF entity is supported; check any messages about omitted or unsupported content.
- Confirm the physical size. Check the artwork dimensions before interpreting the drawing. A file that looks right can still use the wrong units. See the SVG units and scale guide for SVG scale assumptions.
- Assign operations. Choose Cut, Score, Vector engrave, or Ignore. Appearance and layers help group objects; they do not establish manufacturing intent. Review individual contours when one group contains different operations.
- Analyze and review. Run the check, select an issue to locate the affected geometry, and decide whether it needs customer correction or is intentional.
- Prepare the handoff. Copy or print the correction report and export the operation-layered DXF when available. Open the DXF in your CAD/CAM software to verify dimensions, operations, and machine settings.
What the checks look for
- Open Cut contours
- A Cut chain that does not form a closed boundary. Score and Vector engrave paths can remain open. Nearby endpoints are flagged separately; the tool does not close gaps for you.
- Duplicates and overlapping straight segments
- Repeated geometry or segments can trace the same location twice. The check compares exact source primitives for duplicates and reports collinear straight-segment overlaps longer than 0.01 mm. It is not a general detector of nearly coincident curves.
- Self-intersections
- Non-adjacent segments of a Cut chain that intersect. Curved self-intersections are checked using a fixed 0.01 mm approximation, so the result is not an exact proof for every curve.
- Crossings between separate Cut contours
- Crossings are checked only when both chains consist entirely of straight segments. Touching and overlapping paths are excluded from this crossing rule; straight overlaps have their own check. A chain containing any curve is skipped by this rule, including its straight portions.
- Small geometry and nearby endpoints
- Zero-length and short segments, small isolated objects, and close but unjoined endpoints are warnings to review. Short-segment, isolated-object, and endpoint-distance thresholds come from the current profile. A small feature may be intentional.
- Artwork larger than the machine bed
- If you configure bed dimensions, the check compares the active artwork bounds with them. It does not rotate or rearrange parts to find a fit.
- Text, raster images, and unsupported content
- The review identifies content that needs attention or is not represented in vector output. SVG live text depends on the available font geometry; DXF text is omitted. Raster images are not traced into vectors. Read these messages before relying on the exported drawing.
Geometry checks apply to active operations; objects assigned Ignore are excluded from active geometry metrics and DXF output. Ignoring an object does not necessarily clear a document-level problem with omitted or unsupported content.
Three examples of a useful review
- A small gap in a part boundary
- The Cut chain is reported as open. If the free endpoints are within the configured distance, a nearby-endpoints warning helps locate the gap. Ask for the boundary to be closed in the source file, then check the revised file.
- A line copied on top of itself
- A duplicate issue identifies the repeated geometry. Remove the extra line in the source drawing to avoid repeated processing. Changing its color alone does not remove the duplicate.
- Two straight-sided parts crossing
- The crossing issue marks their intersection. Check whether the parts were placed incorrectly or whether a different operation was intended. Move the geometry in the source file or correct its operation assignment, then analyze again.
What the result means
A blocker identifies a condition that needs resolution or an explicit decision. A warning identifies something that may be intentional. Both open blockers and open warnings keep the result in manual review.
Choose customer correction when the file needs changing. Accept an issue as intentional only after reviewing its cutting intent. That records an exception; it does not repair the geometry.
This means the required review decisions are complete. “Ready with accepted exceptions” means intentional issues remain recorded. Neither status, nor an analysis PASS, certifies that the file is safe to run on a machine.
If analysis is blocked by unsupported input or a processing limit, it has not completed. Treat that result as unchecked, not as a clean drawing.
What remains a CAD/CAM decision
Cut Preflight does not repair geometry, nest parts, calculate prices, compensate for kerf, or generate CAM toolpaths. It does not determine material suitability, minimum manufacturable features, cutting order, power, or speed. Reported path starts are not a CAM pierce count.
Export units and curve tolerance control the DXF output. They do not change the analysis thresholds or its fixed curve approximation. Verify the exported file in the software and workflow you use for production.
Your files stay in your browser
File analysis runs locally. Opening or checking a file does not automatically save it as a job or upload it. When you explicitly save a job, its source file and review details are kept in this browser on this device. Saved profiles and jobs can be backed up; clearing browser site data removes the local records. See the privacy page for storage details.