The desktop app for personal CNC

See your piece on the wood. Before the cut.

Drop in a photo — a portrait, a logo, a sketch. HCraft turns it into a carve and renders the finished piece on your wood, every safety check verified, before you commit the material.

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✓ Free tier at launch ✓ Windows & macOS ✓ Works offline · no account
HCraft running a pet portrait in dry-air simulation — the carved render on the left, with feed, bit-deflection, chip-out and cut-time checks scoring 93/100 'Safe to run' on the right.

Step 4 of 5 — the dry-air run, every check verified before a single pass is cut.

No CAD background needed. If you can pick a photo, you can carve it.

01 — From photo to carve

One photo. Three ways to carve it.

Start from any image — an iPhone shot is enough. Pick a style and watch HCraft render the finished piece on your material, exactly as it'll come off the bed.

HCraft render: a portrait carved as tonal V-bit grooves in walnut

Photo V-Sculpt

Best for portraits

Tonal grooves carved with a V-bit. Made for portraits — faces, pets, the photo on the fridge.

HCraft render: a halftone dot pattern carved in maple

Halftone

Variable dots that read as light and shadow. High-contrast art, album covers, posters.

HCraft render: clean carved line art in oak

Sketch

Clean carved lines. Logos, signs, line art, lettering.

Every preview is the real HCraft render on your actual material — walnut, oak, maple, MDF. The same image you approve before cutting.

02 — The simulation room

The carve runs on screen first. On your wood.

Your material, your bit, your machine's limits — rendered together, with every check verified while you watch. When it looks right here, it cuts right there.

HCraft simulation screen: the full toolpath carved in dry-air on the actual material, with feed, bit-deflection, chip-out and cut-time checks scored and verified before export.

The dry-air run on your actual stock — nothing leaves this screen until you approve it.

03 — Why it matters

Confidence, before the spindle spins.

/01

The preview never lies

The finished piece, rendered on your actual stock — walnut, oak, maple, MDF. Grain, depth, shadow. What you see is what comes off the bed.

/02

Every check, before the cut

Feeds, depths, tabs, bit reach — verified against your machine while you watch the render. You approve the cut knowing it all lines up.

/03

Yours, outright

A one-time license that works offline. No account, no subscription, no trial clock. The G-code and setup sheet it exports are yours to keep — pin them to the wall.

04 — How it works

Five steps. One honest preview.

  1. 01

    Image

    Drop a photo, logo or sketch. HCraft reads the shapes worth carving.

  2. 02

    Style

    Pick a carve style — V-carve lines, relief, fill — and see it applied instantly.

  3. 03

    Adjust

    Set your stock, bit and depth. The render updates as you turn the dials.

  4. 04

    Simulate

    Watch the finished piece on your material while every check runs alongside.

  5. 05

    Export

    Approve the cut and walk to the machine with G-code and a setup sheet.

05 — A note from the shop

I built HCraft after ruining a board I'd been saving for a year — the carve looked fine in my head, and only in my head. I wanted to see the finished piece on the actual wood, checks and all, before committing the material. That's the whole idea. If you've ever hovered over the Start button hoping, this is for you.
Julien Maker of HCraft

06 — Questions

Before you ask.

When does HCraft launch?

We're aiming for later this year — we'll share the exact date by email first. Waitlist members get in before anyone else.

What will it cost?

There'll be a free tier — no trial clock, no expiry. Paid tiers are one-time licenses, announced at launch.

Which machines are supported?

Any GRBL machine — Genmitsu 3018-class, Shapeoko-class, and generic GRBL builds. HCraft exports standard .gcode your sender already understands.

Windows or Mac?

Both — same app, same features, on Windows and macOS.

I'm new to CNC — is HCraft for me?

Especially for you. HCraft is a guided flow: pick a photo, pick a style, and the render plus the pre-cut checks tell you exactly what will happen before you commit your material. No CAD background needed.

What do I get for joining the waitlist?

First access the day HCraft ships, plus an early supporter advantage on paid tiers — details announced before launch. And only launch news in your inbox, nothing else.

Be there when the first cut ships.

One email at launch. First in line for the free tier.

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