If you’ve just built or bought your own CNC router, you’ll want to dive right into cutting wood at micrometer precision and getting some projects under your belt. Lucky for you, we’ve created a list of the top sites to find CNC wood-cutting designs, most of which are free!
Most CNC routers use G-code to cut wood. G-code for CNC machines is similar to but different from G-code for a 3D printer. In any case, you can slice G-code from a variety of files.
Since they’re the most common, we’ll mostly be considering sites offering DXF and SVG files that are ready for slicing. All of these sites include host files ideal for wood cutting or engraving on a CNC machine as well as other files that are good for 3D printing and metal cutting. It’s also worth noting that some of the numbers provided in the following list may have changed since the time of writing.
3axis.co
3axis.co is one of the top CNC file libraries. Files are sorted by file type or application, which makes it extremely easy to filter only woodworking plans and DXF files. The website is very easy to use and hosts fantastic designs.
The designs hosted are often full projects rather than images used for engravings.
- Site: 3axis.co
- Registration required: No
- Number of free files: Nearly 24,000
- Number of premium files: 0
DXF Downloads
DXF Downloads is an online community that caters to enthusiasts of CNC routers, lasers, papercrafts, stickers, and various design-related fields. Users are granted a platform to freely share their design creations. The platform operates on a point-based system, where users can earn 20 daily points by merely visiting the website and accrue more by sharing their designs. Furthermore, DXF Downloads generously offers a diverse collection of points-free files for download.
For those with substantial downloading needs, the option to purchase points is available, supporting the website’s maintenance. It’s worth noting that each uploaded file undergoes evaluation before becoming available for download, ensuring the quality and reliability of the shared designs.
- Site: DXF Downloads
- Registration required: Only to download premium files
- Number of free files: Not specified, but reaching the thousands
- Number of premium files: Not specified, but reaching the thousands
Maslow Community Garden
The Maslow Community Garden serves as a meeting point for Maslow CNC users but will suit any CNC user, fostering a platform for open-source design sharing. Design files are stored in GitHub repositories, simplifying collaboration, contributions, and file maintenance within the community. Projects are sorted into categories, such as furniture, food and shelter, and signs.
An interesting feature is that each project operates as a self-contained entity. The website refreshes every five minutes from a tracked project list, eliminating the need for centralized ownership of design files. This decentralized structure allows for collective project management, underscoring the community’s commitment to open collaboration and resource sharing.
- Site: Maslow Community Garden
- Registration required: No
- Number of free files: Nearly 40
- Number of premium files: 0
Cut Rocket
Cut Rocket is a user-friendly project platform from Carbine 3D, dedicated to CNC-ready files. With an impressive library and designs thoughtfully categorized into nine sections, including tools, signs, storage, household, games, and more, it offers a diverse range of options. Many of the files are provided only in c2d format, which is a G-code encryption used by Carbide Create. However, with some searching, you can also find DXF and PNG versions for broader use.
What sets this site apart is that it allows users to access these files without any registration, and all the files are available for free. This makes Cut Rockets a hassle-free and cost-effective resource for those in need of CNC designs. It’s a valuable source without any barriers to entry.
- Site: Cut Rocket
- Registration required: No
- Number of free files: Over 400
- Number of premium files: 0
LoveSVG
LoveSVG hosts thousands of SVG and DXF files. Although many designs are available for free, you can opt for a subscription, which includes exclusive member-only files and unlimited commercial use. The site’s shop offers bundles, some including thousands of files that range from $5 to $50.
Most of the designs on LoveSVG are fonts and basic vectors.
- Site: LoveSVG
- Registration required: Yes
- Number of free files: Over 12,000
- Number of premium files: Over 5,700
PlasmaSpider
PlasmaSpider is a forum dedicated to CNC plasma cutting, which can be easily translated to woodcutting. The forum has an individual board for sharing DXF files for CNC cutting. It’s totally free and constantly being updated.
Currently, there are over 9,500 threads on the board, almost all of which feature numerous DXF files. You can also request files, and a lot of them are of extremely high quality.
Just know that you’ll need to create an account within the forum to download files.
- Site: PlasmaSpider
- Registration required: Yes
- Number of free files: Over 9,500
- Number of premium files: 0
DXF1
DXF1 is one of the best CNC file libraries on the internet. Every file is free to download and use. All files come as a DXF (hence the domain name), and most come in a variety of other file types, many of which can be sliced. The website is no-frills, but it’s easy to use and requires no signup.
The files are often simple vector images or patterns converted to DXF file format, which are ideal for engravings.
- Site: DXF1
- Registration required: No
- Number of free files: Over 4,200
- Number of premium files: 0
Maker Union (by Scan2CAD)
With over 1,400 high-resolution DXF files free to download, you aren’t likely to get bored with Maker Union any time soon. Maker Union is created and managed by the makers of Scan2CAD, a conversion tool for engineers and designers. Each week, a new themed pack is released and is free to download. So, whether you need a DXF file for a tractor, city skyline, or Halloween decoration, Maker Union has you covered.
You can also purchase collections of DXF files from Maker Union for around $200 each. The All-Star Collection has over 700 files, while the Essential Collection has over 500.
- Site: Maker Union
- Registration required: Yes (Free)
- Number of free files: Over 1,400
- Number of premium files: Over 1,200
DXFforCNC
DXFforCNC is chock-full of high-quality DXF files that you can download for free! As of yet, DXFforCNC has a little over 700 free files to choose from. Cows, cars, signs, you name it, DXFforCNC probably has it.
For about $2,500, you can gain access to all the files DXFforCNC has to offer. If you just need a certain collection of files, you can purchase a single pack for around $20-$50. To offset these costs, you can become an affiliate or seller, where you can sell your own files or earn a high commission on every successful referral.
Although the site says “No sign-up required,” you have to go through a checkout process and provide personal data to download files.
- Site: DXFforCNC
- Registration required: No
- Number of free files: Over 1,700
- Number of premium files: Around 11,900 with many new designs added weekly
GrabCAD
With thousands of files tagged with “CNC”, GrabCAD is ideal for designers and engineers with CAD skills who would like to customize raw CAD files and produce their own DXF files. Searching for “DXF” returns over 2,000 files, many of which are relevant to wood cutting.
The website is very professional and easy to use, but you do have to sort through many designs to find what you specifically want.
- Site: GrabCAD
- Registration required: Yes
- Number of free files: Around 2,000
- Number of premium files: 0
CNCArt.club
One of the smaller sites, CNCArt.club hosts both 2D patterns and 3D designs. Many of the projects are extremely beautiful and of unrivaled quality.
Unfortunately, the premium models come with a small price tag. To use the website, you’ll have to create an account. Premium models cost approximately $1-$5 through a point system.
The website might not be much to look at, but the quality of the designs more than makes up for it.
- Site: CNCArt.club
- Registration required: Yes
- Number of free files: 10 per month
- Total number of files: 460
Ready2Cut
If you want a large number of premium DXF files that are ready to be used in your CNC straight away, Ready2Cut is just the ticket.
They mainly host greeting-card-style designs and fonts. Only a handful of the designs are free, but many are available for under $5.
- Site: Ready2Cut
- Registration required: Yes
- Number of free files: 17
- Number of premium files: Over 100
Thingiverse
The classic website for 3D printing STLs and more, Thingiverse is extremely easy to use and allows users to create an account, save designs, add designs to collections, and upload their own. Best of all: Thingiverse is entirely free.
The website features around 10,000 files tagged with “CNC”, though some of these include 3D printable parts for CNC machines. A search for “DXF” and “SVG” yields around 3,800 and 5,400 files respectively, but some models appear in both searches, as they include files in both file formats. A definitive number of relevant files can’t be determined, but search for “CNC”, “DXF”, or “SVG”, and you’ll find very interesting wood designs and complete projects.
- Site: Thingiverse
- Registration required: No
- Number of free files: Not specified
- Number of premium files: 0
Instructables
Instructables is one of the largest websites for inventors, makers, and tinkerers alike. The website serves as one giant digital makerspace, with projects ranging from 3D printing to electronics, mechanical, carpentry, and more. And it doesn’t disappoint with a large range of CNC wood projects.
You’ll find not only DXF files to load into your CNC machine but also instructions on assembly, post-processing, and design notes. It’s hard to say how many files are hosted on Instructables, as the CNC wood cutting designs are difficult to separate from other projects, but there are a lot.
- Site: Instructables
- Registration required: No
- Number of free files: Not specified
- Number of premium files: 0
Etsy
Many makers will have come across Etsy before. Widely known as the go-to place for handmade, unique, or bespoke items, Etsy also features a wide variety of designs for sale. Unfortunately, there are no free files for CNC wood cutting, but you can find a range of wood cutting designs for an affordable price.
Generally, you’ll find simple vector art rather than patterns or three-dimensional designs, but there’s a staggering number of designs available. Searching for “CNC”, “DXF”, and “SVG” returns over 142,600, 916,700, and 3 million results, respectively.
- Site: Etsy
- Registration required: Yes
- Number of free files: 0
- Number of premium files: Hundreds of thousands
License: The text of "CNC Files/Designs for Wood: The Best Sites of 2023" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.