Title: 2.5D “book binding” cradle in MillMage – is there a smoother way than stacked offsets?

MillMage Software Questions
1

Thank you for creating Millmage. I’m a long time fan of Lightburn and Millmage is just the tool I’ve been waiting for to make my CNC router hardware as usable as my Laser hardware.

I’m working on a simple book‑binding cradle/jig and trying to keep my workflow inside LightBurn + MillMage (X‑Carve 1000, ⅛" ball nose in hardwood).

The physical part is just a 300 mm × 100 mm board with several long grooves sized for different spine thicknesses. Example slot widths and depths (using a “depth ≈ ¼ width” rule of thumb):

  • 13 mm wide → ~3.25 mm deep

  • 20 mm wide → ~5.0 mm deep

  • 30 mm wide → ~7.5 mm deep

  • 45 mm wide → ~11.25 mm deep

Visually, each groove is more like a book spine profile: a shallow, smooth curve along the width of the slot, running the full 300 mm length. Think of what a book’s binding would look like if you pressed it down into a soft block.

In Easel, I was able to get close to this using a user app that turns a straight slot into a Bezier‑curved bottom, and Easel then generates a 3D‑ish toolpath from that (see attached screenshot). It’s still 2.5D under the hood, but the UI makes it feel like “draw slot → make the bottom curved.”

In MillMage, I can easily:

  • Draw the outer board and slot rectangles.

  • Use a Pocket op to clear to a given depth.

But the result is a flat‑bottomed groove with essentially square walls, rounded only by the ⅛" ball nose at the very bottom. To approximate the book‑spine curve today, it seems like I’d need to:

  • Use the offset tool to create multiple inset paths inside the slot.

  • Assign progressively deeper operations to each inward offset (or multiple on‑line profiles with different Z depths), so that the cross‑section of all passes forms a curve.

That’s workable, but a bit clunky to manage by hand if you want more than a few “steps.”

So my questions/requests:

  1. Is there already a better 2.5D pattern in MillMage for this kind of “smooth cradle” geometry that I’m missing?

  2. Are there plans for a heightmap / grayscale‑driven Z mode (similar to LightBurn’s grayscale for laser power, but mapped to Z depth for CNC) or some sort of “curved bottom pocket” that could take a vector outline and a simple curve definition (Bezier, arc, etc.) and generate the stepped toolpaths automatically?

  3. Short‑term, is the recommended approach exactly what I described: create the slot, then use the offset tool to generate multiple inner paths and assign deeper Z to each, possibly with a ball nose and tight stepover for smoothing?

My goal is not advanced 3D surfacing—just a smooth, book‑spine‑like cradle for woodworking jigs, staying in MillMage’s 2.5D world rather than jumping to Fusion or full 3D CAM.

Any patterns, screenshots, or “this is how we’d do it in MM” examples would be very welcome.

Image 9-4-25 at 6.35 PM
Image 9-4-25 at 6.35 PM640×393 42 KB

2

We’ll have 3D Relief carving in Pro: Relief Carving - Work in Progress

Though what you’re showing there looks more like a moulding toolpath, which is also likely: Moulding Toolpath equivalent in Millmage? - #2 by Colin

For the moment, MillMage has very limited ability to produce smooth output like that - the only real exceptions are fluting, or just using a huge round-bottom bit, but 3D Relief carving will allow carving of depth maps, and then we’ll add 3D model import.

I can also look at what would be involved in doing a moulding toolpath, as that seems like it could be a nice in-between.

1 Like
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excellent! Looking forward to Pro!!

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I am eagerly awaiting the Moulding Toolpath. To be honest, I am “addicted” to it in Vectric :smiley: It is such a fantastic tool for creating kitchen cabinet doors and all kinds of frames.