FAQ and troubleshooting

Quick answers to the questions people ask most. If yours isn't here, click Help on the rail and choose Support.

Account and plans

Do I need a card to sign up? No. New accounts get a 14-day Pro trial and then move to Free unless you subscribe.

What happens to my projects if I cancel Pro? You keep Pro until the end of the period you paid for, then move to Free. Your projects stay.

I used WebCAM CNC. Is my account still there? Yes. Surfacecraft is the new name: sign in with the same email and password.

Design

My design is bigger than the stock. Shapes outside the stock are still cut where they are, which may be off the material or outside the machine. Select the shapes and check X, Y, W and H in the bar under the canvas, or make the stock bigger.

Text looks right but cuts as outlines. That's how most fonts work: the bit follows the outline of each letter. For engraving with a V-bit or a pen, pick a single-line font (the names say SingleLine). Each letter is then one stroke.

I can't select a shape. Make sure the Select tool is active, then click the shape's outline rather than empty space inside it, or drag a box around it.

Toolpaths and G-code

Export G-code is greyed out. No shape has a cut yet. Select a shape and give it a depth and a bit (Cut), or put it on an operation (Burn and Write). In PCB Studio, add the board files first.

The 3D preview doesn't match my drawing. That's the point of it: it's built from the generated G-code, so it shows what will actually be cut. Check the depth and cut path of the shapes that look wrong. A closed shape inside a pocket that's shallower than the pocket is left standing on purpose.

The job is taking much longer than the estimate. Estimates use the feeds and your machine's limits from Machines. If the machine can't really reach those speeds (common on small routers with short moves), it runs slower than the estimate.

Why are there several G-code files? Each file is one bit and one Z zero. GRBL can't pause for a bit change inside a file, so Surfacecraft splits the job wherever the bit changes and numbers the files in cutting order.

Machines and sending

Send to machine doesn't find my machine. USB sending needs Chrome or Edge on a computer, a data USB cable (some are charge-only), and nothing else holding the port: close UGS, Candle or LightBurn first. Sending is part of Pro.

My machine moves the wrong way or the wrong distance. That's a machine setting, not the G-code. Check the steps per mm ($100–$102) and direction ($3) in your firmware.

The bit cut into the spoilboard. Z was zeroed on the spoilboard, or the stock thickness in the project is larger than the real stock. Zero Z on the top of the stock and measure the stock with calipers.

Safety

Surfacecraft keeps rapid moves above the clearance height and checks every file, but it can't see your machine. Before every run, check the bit is the one the file's header names, your zero is where the header says, your clamps are out of the path, and the stop is within reach.