Drill holes

Use the new “drill hole” shape type to easily and efficiently carve holes the exact size of your bit.

Previously, in order to carve holes the size of your bit, you would have to add a circle shape to your project, make sure the circle was a “fill” shape, and carefully set its diameter to be slightly larger than the diameter of your bit. While this worked in some cases, it was a little clunky, and if you changed bit sizes you would have to change the size of your holes. This method also did not support specialized “drilling” bits that are not designed to cut laterally.

This feature solves these problems by letting you add a shape intended specifically for carving holes to your design. No matter what bit you select, Easel will generate a path to carve a hole matching the size of that bit and that cuts in a vertical motion, raising the bit out of the material after each plunge at the depth per pass specified in order to allow material to escape from the hole and reduce stress on the bit.

To use this feature, just set the depth of the hole in the cut panel like you would for any other shape.

PS: Holes are a little different from other shapes in a few other ways, too: they cannot be combined with other shapes, they will always be “on top” of other shapes, and they will always be carved before any other shapes.