# Carving maps on a CNC router

> carve layered terrain, lakes and coastlines into hardwood on a CNC router

On a laser, each map layer is cut from its own sheet and the sheets are glued into a stack. On a CNC router the same layers carve one solid board instead: each layer becomes a pocket at its own depth, so the terrain steps down into the wood.

The presets that make good layered stacks also make good carvings: topography, lake and ocean depth charts, and land and sea maps. There are two ways to carve them. With the layer SVGs you make one pocket toolpath per step, which works in any CAM software. If your CAM software opens 3D models, the STL carves the whole relief in one job.

## What you need

- A CNC router (Shapeoko, Onefinity, X-Carve or larger) and CAM software such as Carbide Create, VCarve, Fusion or Easel
- A hardwood blank thicker than your deepest pocket: basswood, maple, walnut or a glued-up panel, or MDF if you will paint it
- A 3.175 mm (1/8 inch) downcut or compression end mill for clean terrace edges, and a small V-bit for coastlines and lettering
- Optional: tinted [acrylic](https://yxecreations.com/pages/acrylic-sheets) for an inlaid water layer, wood glue, finishing oil or paint

## 1. Start from a relief preset



Open a preset whose layers are already depth steps:

- [Topography](/map-designer?preset=topography): up to sixteen elevation bands, each one a terrace.
- [Lake Depth Chart](/map-designer?preset=lake-depth-chart) and [Coastal Depth Chart](/map-designer?preset=coastal-depth-chart): depth bands that carve into the board as a basin.
- [Land and Sea Relief Map](/map-designer?preset=land-sea-relief-map): mountains and lake depth in one piece.
- [Country Borders Map](/map-designer?preset=country-borders-map) or a bold [City Map](/map-designer?preset=city-map) for a simple two-level carve.

Eight to ten steps carve better than sixteen: the terraces stay wide and you have fewer toolpaths. Delete empty bands, such as elevations above your highest peak, before you export.

![Rendered model of the Canyon River preset: stacked terrain plates with a river valley cut through them in blue depth bands](https://www.mylasertools.com/learn/maps/canyon-river-render.webp)

Canyon River built from its real export as stacked plates. On a CNC each plate becomes one pocket depth, so the same layers carve this shape into a single board. Press Rotate in 3D to turn it.

## 2. Work out the depth of each step



Count the height changes between the bands. If the highest band stays at the surface of the board, 10 bands have 9 height changes. Divide the distance from the highest to the lowest surface by that number:

- For example, 10 elevation bands with an 18 mm difference from highest to lowest need 2 mm between each pair of bands: 18 ÷ 9 = 2 mm.
- The top layer, the highest elevation or the shore plate of a depth chart, is the surface of the board and is not carved. Every layer under it is a pocket at its own depth.
- Leave at least a few millimetres of wood under the deepest pocket, so you do not cut into the spoilboard.
- Steep terrain puts contours close together, and the wood between them becomes a thin wall. If a wall is thinner than your end mill, use fewer bands or a smaller bit.

## 3. Download the files



- In the Export Preview, click **Polygon cleanup** to drop tiny islands that would turn into nubs too small to machine.
- Set **Map width** to the width of your board. Set **Layer thickness** to the step depth from step 2; the STL uses it for the height of each terrace.
- Choose **Download as ZIP** for one SVG per layer, named in order from the bottom. Note the order: you give each file its depth in CAM.
- For a 3D carving, choose **Download STL** as well.

![The Export Preview of the Map Designer with the CNC downloads marked with numbers](https://www.mylasertools.com/learn/maps/annotated/map-export-cnc.webp)

1: Polygon cleanup. 2: Map width and Layer thickness, which is the depth of each step. 3: Download as ZIP, one SVG per layer. 4: Download STL for a 3D carving.

## CNC router

### Carve the layer SVGs as pockets



1. Import all the layer SVGs into one CAM file at the same origin, so they line up.
2. Each layer gives an outline: the edge where the ground rises to the next step, or where the water drops to the next depth. Pocket the side that should be lower: **outside** each outline for terrain, **inside** each outline for a lake or the sea.
3. Give each pocket its depth from step 2, from the shallowest step to the deepest. Rough with the end mill, then a light finishing pass cleans the floors.
4. Add a **V-carve** toolpath for the coastline, the lake name or the coordinates. A V-bit cuts sharper lettering than a flat end mill.
5. Cut the outside profile last to free the panel from the blank, with small tabs so it does not move on the final pass.
6. Sand the terraces lightly, then oil the hardwood, or paint the pockets in map colours: greens low, tans in the middle, white on the peaks.

Feeds and speeds are the same as for any pocketing job in your material. Hardwood carves cleanest with a downcut or compression bit and a shallow depth per pass. Acrylic cuts best with a single-flute (O-flute) bit. MDF carves fast but leaves a fuzzy surface, so plan to paint it. Before the good blank, carve two or three bands on a scrap to check your depth numbers.

### Carve the STL as a 3D model



VCarve, Carbide Create Pro and Fusion can open an STL as a 3D model. Import it at the board size, set the top of the model to the top of the board, and make two toolpaths: a roughing pass with a flat end mill, then a finishing pass with a ball nose bit. The terraces come out in one job, with no pockets to set up by hand.

### Water as an acrylic inlay



1. On a depth chart, pocket the whole lake or sea a few millimetres deep, following its outline.
2. Cut the same shape from tinted blue [acrylic](https://yxecreations.com/pages/acrylic-sheets) on a laser or the CNC and set it into the pocket for a glassy water surface.
3. Or pour tinted epoxy into the carved basin instead. Tape the rim first.

## Make it yours

- Carve a favourite mountain, such as the Tetons or your local ski hill, as one hardwood block and oil it.
- Paint each pocket a different colour, then sand the surface lightly so only the tops of the terraces show bare wood.
- V-carve the summit elevation and the coordinates into the top face.
- Glue up a walnut and maple striped blank, so the terraces reveal different woods as they step down.
- Pour tinted epoxy into a carved lake basin for a bar-top look.
- Mirror the file and carve the back as well: terrain on the front, an engraved coastline on the back.

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Open a relief preset to carve: https://www.mylasertools.com/map-designer?preset=topography
Read online: https://www.mylasertools.com/learn/guides/cnc-carving-maps