C A N D O

Stock and Customer-Supplied Materials

We keep a limited selection of shop-grade plywood, Ultralight MDF, Ranger Board, and Medex in stock. We can order many other materials. Material, delivery, and handling charges apply.

Customer-supplied material may be delivered or drop-shipped to our shop by arrangement. Solid wood must be supplied by the customer and must arrive flat, stable, surfaced, squared, free of hardware, and ready to machine.

SketchUp is our primary CAD platform. Files in any format must still be correctly scaled, organized, and complete enough to communicate the intended machining. A file may be returned for revision if it requires reconstruction, design development, or extensive cleanup.

Reference Files Only

JPEG, TIFF, PNG, BMP, and STL files cannot be used as CNC production geometry. They may be included as supplemental visual instructions when accompanied by an accepted production file and a dimensioned PDF.

Build the Production File at Full Scale

Create the file at the exact size you want machined. Use inches or millimeters consistently and identify the units. We do not resize production geometry to match a written dimension.

Keep Production Geometry Separate from Instructions

The machining file should contain only the geometry needed to make the parts. Remove drawing borders, title blocks, dimensions, notes, construction lines, hidden objects, and unrelated geometry.

Include a Dimensioned Reference PDF

Submit a PDF that shows the intended finished result and includes at least one overall reference dimension so we can confirm scale. The PDF must identify:

• Material and thickness
• Quantity of each unique part
• Through cuts, pockets, drilling, engraving, V-carving, and surface-milling locations
• Pocket, drilling, engraving, and other machining depths
• Any required bit diameter or tool requirement when the design depends on it
• Grain direction, finished face, or top-side orientation when it matters

Submit Each Unique Part Once

Do not create the final sheet nesting. Submit each unique part once and state the required quantity. Can Do will arrange the final layout for tool clearance, spacing, hold-down, tabs, material yield, grain direction, and machine safety.

Convert Text to Outlines

Live text is not cutting geometry. Convert all type to outlines in Illustrator or explode or expand it in CAD. If the characters can still be edited as text, the conversion is incomplete.

Use Closed Contours

Every profile or pocket intended as a complete shape must be a continuous closed loop with no gaps between endpoints. Check the file in outline or wireframe view before submitting it.

Bridge Floating Interior Shapes

Interior shapes in letters such as A, B, and O, or in any ring-shaped design, will become separate loose pieces when cut. If the centers must remain attached, add bridges or use a stencil-style design.

Remove Duplicate, Intersecting, and Shared Lines

Do not stack duplicate paths, overlap geometry, or place adjacent parts on a shared cut line. These conditions can produce repeated cuts, incorrect dimensions, damaged edges, or unusable parts.

Clean the Geometry

• Remove stray points, empty objects, unused text areas, clipping masks, fills, and placed images from the production geometry.
• Unite or merge shapes when one continuous finished contour is intended.
• Keep parts separate and ungrouped unless a group is necessary to identify one complete part.
• Simplify excessive anchor points without changing the intended shape.
• Open the exported file and confirm that it contains the intended geometry at the correct overall size.

Organize Machining Operations

Place each machining operation on a separate, plainly named layer. Include the depth in the layer name whenever applicable. A rigid color system is not required, but the vector file and reference PDF must agree.

• THROUGH CUT
• POCKET 0.25 IN
• DRILL 0.375 IN DIA × 0.50 IN DEEP
• ENGRAVE 0.0625 IN DEEP
• V CARVE
• SURFACE MILL

If your software does not preserve layers reliably, separate operations clearly and identify every operation in the reference PDF. Contact us before submitting if you are unsure how to organize a multi-operation file.

Inside Corners and Dogbones

Router bits are round, so a CNC router cannot create a perfectly sharp inside corner. If a square mating part must fit into a slot or pocket, the design may need dogbone relief at the inside corners. Small features, inside radii, and mating joints are subject to tooling review.

Tabs and Part Hold-Down

Small tabs or other hold-down methods may be needed to keep parts secure during cutting. Tab locations and remnants may be visible on unfinished edges. Avoid excessive nodes or extremely short edge segments that make safe tab placement difficult.

Open and Perforated Designs

Grilles, perforated patterns, very thin connections, and designs that remove a large percentage of the material may shift, flex, or break while cutting. These designs are reviewed individually and may need revision.

Expected Routed Edge Condition

Routed parts may have tab remnants, small witness marks, minor tooling steps, fuzzing, or light burning depending on the material and operation. Can Do does not provide sanding or edge finishing as part of the standard CNC service.

What the Standard Service Includes

Our standard service includes CNC programming and machining from an approved, production-ready file. It does not include design development, fabrication, assembly, sanding, painting, edge finishing, or installation unless specifically agreed to in writing.

Files That Need Correction

Files that do not meet the requirements may be returned for correction before the project can be quoted or scheduled. Limited file cleanup may be offered at our discretion for $125 per hour with a one-hour minimum. Extensive drawing, reconstruction, or design development is not accepted through the standard CNC submission process.

Minimum Charge and Lead Time

The minimum project charge is $295 and includes the first hour of machine and operator time. Our typical lead time is 1 to 2 weeks after the file, material, machining instructions, price, and schedule are approved. We do not offer rush service.

Pickup and Shipping

Completed projects should be picked up Monday through Friday between 8:30 AM and 3:30 PM. Pickup is expected for large projects. Shipping may be reviewed and quoted case by case when the size, packaging, destination, and carrier requirements make it practical.

Submit only the requested design files and reference PDF. Do not include executable files, scripts, plug-ins, software installers, fonts, custom viewers, or password-protected archives. Compressed files and unexpected file types may be rejected. Can Do may quarantine, scan, or decline any file that cannot be safely verified.

• My project can be machined from the top face on a three-axis router.
• My project does not require metal cutting, rotation, undercuts, underside cutting, two-sided machining, or sculptural 3D relief carving.
• My material is approved, flat, identified, and no more than 2 inches thick.
• My parts fit within one of the usable cutting areas.
• My production file is an accepted format, full scale, and uses consistent units.
• My file contains clean production geometry without duplicate paths, open contours, unused objects, or raster cutting geometry.
• All text has been converted to outlines.
• Floating interiors have been bridged when they must remain attached.
• Each machining operation and depth is clearly identified.
• I included a dimensioned PDF with material, thickness, quantities, operations, and orientation information.
• I submitted each unique part once and did not create final sheet nesting.
• I understand the $295 minimum, typical 1 to 2 week lead time, and limits of the standard CNC service.