Cut depth and depth per pass together decide how many passes your machine makes, which affects how long your carve takes. Changing one affects the other, so adjust them together.
Cut depth
Cut depth is how deep a shape is carved. Some shapes are carved partway into the material and others are cut all the way through. Set it in the Cut tab with the depth slider (1), or type an exact depth (2). Darker shapes in the 2D editor are carved deeper.
The deepest you can carve is the thickness of your material, which you set in the Material menu. With Easel Pro, you can carve deeper using Add Depth. See Adjusting Depth.
Depth per pass
Depth per pass is how deep your machine cuts each time it goes around a toolpath. Unless you're cutting very thin material with a large bit, your machine will make several passes.
As a rule of thumb, don't use a depth per pass greater than half your bit's diameter. For example, keep a 1/4" bit to .125" per pass and a 1/8" bit to .0625" per pass.
To change it, open the Bit menu and change Depth per pass (1) in the cut settings. Each bit has its own depth per pass.
Counting your passes
Click Simulate, then uncheck Material in the ⋮ menu. Each layer of toolpaths is one pass.
See Toolpath Simulation in Easel.
Example
A sign carved in soft maple with a 1/8" bit, using Easel's recommended depth per pass of .06":
- Cut depth of .3": 5 passes.
- Cut depth of .06": 1 pass, so it carves about five times faster.
- Cut depth of .12": 2 passes (.06 × 2).
To get an exact number of passes, set your cut depth to a multiple of your depth per pass.
| Important: Start with Easel's recommended settings and test on scrap first. Going outside them can break bits or burn your material. Use Easel's settings for hard materials like aluminum, PCB and Corian, and don't increase the depth per pass for engraving bits or bits smaller than 1/16". |