Press kit

Everything you need to write about PencilCAD. For review copies or questions, email support@chockstonelabs.com.

Fact sheet

Short description

PencilCAD is 2D CAD sketching for iPad and Apple Pencil: sketch on isometric or grid paper, then snap, dimension and constrain the drawing, and export it to scale as PDF, SVG or DXF, or lay it out on a sheet and make the files for a laser cutter, Cricut, CNC router or sheet metal shop.

Long description

Most parts, projects and plans start as a sketch on graph paper. PencilCAD is that sketch, made exact. It opens to a page of isometric, grid or dot paper, and the pen works like a pen. When the sizes matter, the CAD tools take over: lines snap to the grid and weld at the corners, dimensions label themselves with real lengths, and writing a number beside a line with Apple Pencil makes the line that size.

Constraints follow the marks people already know from geometry class. Ticks make lines equal, arrows make them parallel, and a corner box makes them square. Finish fills in whatever a sketch is missing, and a fully defined sketch turns green. Photos, scans, PDF plans, DXF and SVG files come in to trace or edit, and drawings go out as PDF on Letter or A4, SVG in millimetres or inches, or DXF with layers, at the size they were drawn.

PencilCAD 2.0 adds a third toolset, Cut. It puts the drawing on a sheet or mat, from Cricut mats and laser beds to a custom size, nests copies, and sets each layer or shape to cut, score, engrave, draw or skip. Text can use a bundled single-line font, and outlines can be welded together or given tabs. Preflight checks every file before export, with one-tap fixes and a kerf test. Export profiles cover LightBurn, Glowforge, Cricut Design Space, a laser print driver, Shaper Origin and generic SVG or DXF.

For CNC routers, PencilCAD writes profile, pocket, engrave, V-carve and adaptive clearing toolpaths from a bit library, with step-down, tabs, ramps and capped feeds, a preview to scrub through, and one G-code file per tool. Send uploads those files over Wi-Fi to FluidNC, grblHAL, ESP3D and Onefinity/Buildbotics controllers, and never starts the machine. Laser users get a power and speed test grid. Sheet metal parts get bends with angle, direction, radius and K-factor, flanges, bend checks, shop rules for SendCutSend and OSH Cut, and a flat DXF with a BEND layer.

PencilCAD is built for makers: 3D printing, woodworking, laser and Cricut cutting, CNC routing, sheet metal and CAD prep. It costs $6.99 once, with no subscription and no account. Pages sync through the user’s own iCloud, and the iPhone app is a viewer for the shop floor or the lumber yard.

Key features

• Sketch, CAD and Cut toolsets on the same pad of paper
• Snapping lines, shapes, arcs and curves that stay editable
• Dimensions in mm, cm, m, inches or feet and inches, with page scale
• Constraints written and drawn with Apple Pencil, read on the device
• Trim, extend, fillet, chamfer, offset, arrays and layers
• Photo, PDF, DXF and SVG import; PDF, SVG and DXF export to scale
• Cut: sheet and mat presets, nesting with copies, and cut, score, engrave or draw per layer or shape
• Preflight with one-tap fixes, a kerf test and a laser power × speed test grid
• Export profiles for LightBurn, Glowforge, Cricut Design Space, Shaper Origin and more, plus hand-off to other cutters and online shops
• Router toolpaths with one G-code file per tool, uploaded over Wi-Fi without starting the machine
• Sheet metal bends, flanges and a flat DXF with a BEND layer
• iCloud sync and an iPhone viewer; no account, no subscription

App icon

Please use the icon as it is, without changing its colours or shape.

Naming

Write it as PencilCAD, one word, with CAD in capitals. PencilCAD is a trade name of Chockstone Labs LLC. Apple, iPad, iPhone and Apple Pencil are trademarks of Apple Inc. Other product and company names are trademarks of their owners and are used only to describe compatibility.