Marking tells the Build Pack where to drill. CutOptim does not drill for you and does not pick your hardware: you place each mark, CutOptim checks that it fits on the part, and the result appears on the exploded drawing, on a hole sheet in the PDF and on the label. Marks live in the Assembly view.
Marking a part
In the Assembly view, switch Marking on. Click a face in the drawing — or use the hole button in the parts table, which also works from the keyboard — and the Marks panel opens at the side. It is not a dialog: the page behind it stays usable, Esc closes it, and Ctrl/Cmd + Z undoes the last change (50 steps deep).
The six kinds
| Kind | What the editor offers |
|---|---|
| Pocket hole | a slot 9.5 mm wide and 38 mm long from an edge, on the hidden side |
| Hinge cup (35 mm) | Ø 35 mm, 13 mm deep, on the hidden side |
| Shelf-pin row (32 mm) | Ø 5 mm, 12 mm deep, 5 holes, 32 mm apart, on the seen side |
| Runner screws | Ø 4 mm, 12 mm deep, 3 holes, 128 mm apart |
| Hole | Ø 8 mm, any depth up to the board, or through |
| Groove | 4 mm wide, 8 mm deep, running the whole part |
These are starting values taken from common hardware — change any of them. For each mark you choose:
- Applies to — every identical part (the count is shown) or only this part;
- Side — seen side or hidden side;
- Measure from — a corner of the part, then X and Y in the job’s unit (millimetres are stored, so inches convert exactly);
- the kind’s own fields: diameter, depth or through, width, length, number of holes, pitch, direction, the edge a pocket hole leaves through;
- Middle or To the edge to snap a position;
- Mirror left ↔ right — put the same mark on the twin part, so the left and right sides drill as mirror images.
Live checking
Every change is checked as you type, and the reason is said in words: a value out of range, a mark that reaches past an edge, deeper than the board is thick, a cup or groove cut through the board, a shelf-pin row off the 32 mm pitch, a groove too close to an edge, overlap with another mark on the part. A mark that does not fit is not added. A pocket hole also needs the hidden side, a board of at least 12 mm, and an edge that meets another part — the joint.
Where marks appear
- On the exploded drawing: holes, slots and grooves on the face they belong to — filled on the seen side, dashed on the hidden side.
- On a hole sheet in the Build Pack: one per marked part, drawn as the face lies on your bench — the hidden face up, edges named TOP, BOTTOM, LEFT, RIGHT, FRONT or BACK, never mirrored. A numbered table gives the kind, side, corner or edge, X, Y, diameter or width, depth and count × pitch, in mm, cm or inches. Identical marked parts share a sheet; the mirrored twin gets its own.
- On the label (Exports): a line such as Drilling: 2 this side · 1 other side and the marks on the pictogram.
Every hole sheet carries the reminder to check each position against your hardware’s own drilling template before you drill.