Warning

MillMage is in active development and in a prerelease state. Many operations and functions are not feature complete. Please report any unexpected behavior by searching for and reporting the issue or question in the MillMage Beta User Forum. Please include screenshots and as much detail as possible.

Beta Users: Finding Help

Find help and download the latest release candidate of MillMage in the MillMage Beta User Forum.

Users new to MillMage should follow the Getting Started guide.

Warning

This documentation is in active development and in a prerelease state. These documents are not complete and may include missing pages, broken links, and placeholders. Content is being updated as feedback is reviewed. Your patience is appreciated.

Preview Window

Quick Reference: Preview

The Preview window shows what MillMage will send to the CNC machine.

Location

Main Toolbar

Window → Preview
Keyboard Shortcuts

Alt/Option+P

The Preview window simulates movements and machining operations before sending a project to the machine. Use it to:

See the order in which operations will be completed
Check that your CNC machine will do what you expect
Estimate how long a job will take based on the information in the Additional Settings tab of Device Settings
Recover interrupted jobs using Start Here

Using the Preview Window¶

The Preview window is an accurate representation of what MillMage will send to your machine.

The right side of the Preview window shows a representation of your project as it will be carved in your workpiece, while the left side shows a wireframe representation of toolpaths only.

Always use the workpiece and toolpath previews to view upcoming operations before they are executed, preventing costly mistakes and damage to your equipment, material, or self. Each preview will show the planned operations using:

Black lines: X and Y Axis cutting moves
Blue lines: travel moves between cutting and retraction moves
Red lines: Z Axis moves down into the workpiece
Green lines: Z Axis moves up out of the workpiece

To open the Preview window, use one of the following methods:

Go to Window → Preview
Click the Preview icon in the Main Toolbar
Press Alt/Option+P
Right-click in your Workspace and select Preview from the context menu

Click any option in the image below to jump directly to the relevant section for that option, or scroll down for a list of options and descriptions.

Workpiece Preview¶

The workpiece Preview panel shows a rendering of the cuts that will be made to the workpiece stock.

Toolpath Preview¶

The toolpath Preview window is a wireframe representation of the toolpaths that MillMage will send to the CNC machine.

Prevent Costly Mishaps

Review the upcoming operations in the Preview window before starting any job to make sure the simulated output matches your expectations and to identify any problems before it's too late.

Time Slider¶

The Time Slider allows you to slide quickly through the project and see the cut order.

Job Time Statistics¶

Below the Time Slider are statistics about the job and the estimated run time. The Additional Settings tab in Device Settings can help you get more accurate time estimates – see the video above for help.

Cut distance shows the distance of the cutting tool's path and the estimated time it will take to complete those movements in parentheses.
Rapid moves shows the distance of non-cutting movements and the estimated time it will take the laser to complete those movements in parentheses.
Total estimated time shows the combined time it will take the CNC machine to complete all cutting and rapid moves.

Video: Accurate Preview Times

LightBurn Video

This video features our sister software, LightBurn. While there may be slight differences in appearance and layout, the demonstrated processes are similar in MillMage.

Preview Settings¶

The settings here only affect the Preview window – they don't change anything about MillMage's output to the CNC machine.

Playback Speed¶

Sets the speed of playback with the Play button – ranges from 1/10 of actual speed to 40 times the actual speed.

Paths In Sim¶

Select an option from the Paths In Sim dropdown menu to overlay the toolpath simulation onto the workpiece simulation — this will show the same paths on right side of the Preview window as the left.

You can select where to show no paths (None), All paths, or the last 5000, 2000, 1000, or 500 paths.

When enabled, Paths In Sim will show:

Blue lines: X and Y Axis travel moves between cutting, plunging, and retraction moves
Black lines: X and Y Axis cutting moves
Red lines: Z Axis plunging or ramping moves down into the workpiece
Green lines: Z Axis retraction moves up out of the workpiece
Red Plus: Final Z Axis location at the end of all operations

Show Project Shapes¶

If enabled, adds the object shape as a new top layer to the toolpath preview.

Show Paint Colors¶

If enabled, colors in the result of each Operation with that Operation's assigned paint color, in the workpiece preview.

See Operations Window and Operation Editor for more information.

View¶

Change the workpiece and toolpath Preview viewpoints.

Both Front and Side views are helpful to view the locations of the initial and ending Z Axis travel moves into and out of the workpiece. The first Z Axis plunging move is marked by the larger red line in the sample images, and the final location marked with a red plus sign.

Choose between six workpiece sample material textures included in MillMage by default.

Brushed Metal material swatch — Brushed Metal

Textured Plastic material swatch — Textured Plastic

White Block material swatch — White Block

Rendering Detail¶

MillMage users with slower or older computers may experience faster Preview update rates by adjusting the rendering quality from Normal to Low when cutting very large, very complex items.

Quality	Samples per mm	Memory Footprint
Low Detail	3 per mm	2.4 Mb per square foot
Normal Detail	5 per mm	6.1 Mb per square foot
High Detail	8 per mm	17.3 Mb per square foot
Normal Detail	12 per mm	38.9 Mb per square foot

Save Image¶

Saves the current Preview as an image file.

Play¶

Animates the simulation to show the job from start to finish at the speed set in Playback Speed.

Ok¶

Closes the Preview window.

Troubleshooting¶

If the time estimates are inaccurate, update the Simulation Settings in Device Settings — Additional Settings.
If the output of the laser doesn't match the Preview, see Troubleshooting: Job Quality.

For more help using MillMage, please visit our forum to talk with MillMage staff and users, or email support.