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Workpiece Positioning

Your CNC knows where home is. But that doesn't help you place your sheet in a known, repeatable position. KerfLab solves this by generating the fixtures your machine doesn't have.

The positioning problem

Small CNC machines have a home position — the point where the machine zeros itself on startup. But you can't cut a panel starting from home, because the cutter needs to approach from beyond the panel edge. The workpiece has to sit away from home by a known, repeatable offset.

Professional machines solve this with expensive pneumatic pop-up pins or vacuum pod systems. Small machines leave you on your own — measuring, marking, hoping it's in the right spot.

KerfLab's solution: generate the fixtures

Instead of buying fixtures, KerfLab creates them by machining directly into your spoilboard. The software knows exactly where it placed them, so all G-code is referenced to those positions.

Fences

You screw a sacrificial piece of wood onto your spoilboard. KerfLab cuts it to a precise straight edge at a known coordinate. Push your sheet against it — the software knows exactly where the edge is.

Indexing pins

KerfLab drills pin holes at calculated positions. Insert standard dowel pins — they cost pennies — and place your sheet or panel against them. Pins provide both X and Y registration.

Why this is needed

This positioning layer is what makes the other KerfLab features possible:

  • Pre-banded sheets — the banded edge needs to be at a known position so panels can be oriented against it.
  • Single-tool workflow — drilling and cutting in one program only works if the sheet is positioned precisely.
  • Secondary operations — adding hinge cups or shelf pins to pre-cut panels requires exact panel placement.

Setup is a one-time thing

  1. Configure your CNC in KerfLab (bed size, cutter diameter)
  2. Surface your spoilboard (optional, ensures a flat reference)
  3. Run the fence cutting program
  4. Drill indexing pin holes and insert dowel pins

After this, every sheet goes in the same spot. Load, clamp, run.

Ready to try it?