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How to Generate CNC Output From AutoCAD

Going from the 3D model to machine-ready programs without redrawing the parts in CAM software.

The drilling is already in your model. Every hinge cup, every shelf pin, every dowel sits at a known position on a known face. Getting that into the machine, though, usually means opening a separate CAM program and describing the part all over again.

The gap between the model and the machine

AutoCAD models geometry; it does not write machine programs. The standard route is to export something — a DXF, a list, sometimes just a printed drawing — and rebuild the part in the machine's own software, positioning the holes by hand.

For a one-off that is acceptable. For a kitchen with sixty parts, it is a second full day of work, and every re-entered coordinate is a chance to put a hole 32 mm from where it belongs.

Where this sits among CNC software

WoodPrep is not a standalone CNC programming software. It runs inside AutoCAD, where the part already exists, and writes the machine program from there.

If you are looking for furniture CNC software or cabinet CNC software, the usual answer is a separate CAM package — something to buy, to learn, and to keep in sync with your CAD. For a workshop that does not draw in CAD at all, that makes sense. But if the cabinet is already modelled in AutoCAD, describing it a second time in another program is work you have done once already.

Most woodworking CNC software starts from an empty part and asks you to build it up. WoodPrep goes the other way: AutoCAD to CNC straight from the DWG you have. Nothing new to learn, and nothing to keep in sync — the drawing stays the single source, and the machine program comes out of it.

Write the program from the part itself

The EE26 command processes a selected part and writes the machine program directly: size, grain direction, edge banding and the complete hole pattern, in the format your machine reads — BPP for Biesse Skipper and Rover, or SCM format. The same run appends the part to cnc_import.txt, so the cutting list stays in step with the machine files.

Run it through CABINET and it happens for every part of the carcass in one pass, rather than part by part.

EE26 on a shaped part: machine program written from the model, with the DXF folder created alongside. Hover to play, click to enlarge.

DXF alongside the machine files

Some parts need a contour, not just drilling — and some downstream software simply prefers DXF. Type dxf in the part comment and a DXF folder is created next to the machine program folders, with the part exported there as well.

The result is that the CNC files and the DXF drawings end up side by side, from the same run, without a second pass over the parts.

Step by step

Model the part with its drilling

The holes in the 3D model are the source — no separate hole schedule to maintain.

Run EE26, or CABINET for the whole carcass

Each part is measured, its production data recorded, and its machine program written.

Add dxf to the comment if you need it

The DXF folder appears next to the machine folders, with the part exported as DXF too.

Send the folder to the machine

The programs are already in the machine's format — nothing to convert on the way.

What you end up with

Which plan

Direct CNC output is part of the Enterprise plan, because the machine format has to be matched to your specific machine during setup. See the Enterprise command guide →

Talk to us about your machine

Enterprise setup includes compatibility testing on your machine before activation.

See what Enterprise includes