Your first project, step by step
Pick something small and simple in cheap material. Set the design up at real size, choose one bit, set zero carefully, preview the toolpath, hold the work down properly, and watch the first minute of the cut with a hand near the stop button.
Choose the right first project
The goal is not an impressive result. It is to go through the whole process once and understand what each step did.
Step by step
1. Design at real size
Set the material dimensions first, then lay out the design on it. Measure a known dimension after any import to check the scale. See file types.
2. Clean the vectors
Closed, no duplicates, text converted to outlines. Run the open vector check. See vector troubleshooting.
3. Choose one bit
For a first project, one tool means no tool change and one Z zero. A 1/4 inch upcut or a 60 degree V-bit will do most first projects. See bit selection.
4. Set feeds and speeds
Start from your bit maker's chipload range and work out the feed. Use a conservative depth per pass for the first job: about half the bit diameter is plenty. See chipload.
5. Preview the toolpath
Run the simulation and look at it. Check the cut depth against your material thickness, check the toolpath order, and check nothing runs off the edge of the stock.
6. Secure the stock
Clamps at the edges, outside the toolpath extents, or tape and CA glue. Make sure nothing the tool will pass over is standing proud. See workholding.
7. Set zero
XY at the same corner the design was drawn from. Z at the top of the material unless your file expects the spoilboard. Say both out loud before you continue. See coordinates and zero.
8. Run it in the air first
Raise Z by an inch or two and run the job. You will see the shape traced above the material, which catches a wrong zero, a design that is off the stock, and a rapid move that would hit a clamp. It costs one run of the job and it is worth it every time on an unfamiliar setup.
9. Cut, and watch the first minute
Eye and ear protection on, hand near the stop. Most failures happen in the first minute: wrong zero, plunge into a clamp, workholding letting go. After that, listen for changes in sound.
10. Inspect before you remove it
Look at the cut while the piece is still in position. If something needs another pass, you still have your zero. Once it comes off the table, that is much harder.
The pre-flight checklist
When it goes wrong, and it will
Something will go wrong on one of your first few jobs. That is normal and it is how the knowledge sticks. When it does, work out which stage it belonged to rather than changing everything: the design, the toolpath settings, the machine setup, or the cut itself. The troubleshooting index is organised by what you can see.