# Getting started

ReliefCAM turns an image, where brighter means higher, into G-code for carving a relief on a 3-axis CNC router. This
guide takes you from a new account to a file you can run.

## 1. Try the sample

Sign up with an email address or with Google. A new account comes with 2 free credits; one credit
generates one job, whatever the size of the image. If a job fails, for any reason, its credit comes
back automatically.

On **Projects**, choose **Try the sample** to see the whole flow with an image we provide, or drop an
image of your own onto the page. PNG, JPEG, TIFF and BMP are accepted, up to 50 MB and 8192 pixels a
side. White is the top of the relief and black is its deepest point.

![The sample relief open in the editor, with the settings tabs on the left and the 3D view on the right.](https://reliefcam.com/guides/sample-editor-light.jpg)

## 2. Look at it in 3D

The project opens in the editor, with the relief in the 3D view. Drag to turn it.

![The sample relief in the 3D view, turned to an angle so the light shows its depth.](https://reliefcam.com/guides/viewer-3d-light.jpg)

The editor has five tabs, in the order you use them:

- **Image** — crop, invert, set the black and white points, adjust the gamma, and smooth noise.
- **Setup** — the machine, the finished size, the depth of the relief, the stock thickness, and what
  happens at the edge of the piece. If the piece is bigger than your machine, it is split into tiles.
- **Operations** — the roughing and finishing passes, each with its tool. See
  [Operations](https://reliefcam.com/docs/operations).
- **Generate** — lists anything that stops the job, then spends a credit to generate it.
- **Output** — the result: times, distances, the files, and the simulated cut in the 3D view.

## 3. Set up your machine and tools

The machine templates and the starter tool set work as they are for most hobby machines.

Open **Machines** and add a profile for your router: the controller it runs, its work area, its
maximum feeds and spindle speeds, the safe height for rapid moves, and how it changes tools. There
are templates for common machines to start from. See [Setting up a machine](https://reliefcam.com/docs/machines) and the
guide for [your controller](https://reliefcam.com/docs/controllers).

![The new machine form with a template picked: the name, the controller and the work area, with the controller details folded below.](https://reliefcam.com/guides/machine-form-light.jpg)

Open **Tools** and add the cutters you own — or add the starter set and edit it. Each tool has a
type, a diameter, a number of flutes and the feeds and speed to run it at. See
[Setting up tools](https://reliefcam.com/docs/tools).

![The Tools page after adding the starter set, listing each cutter with its type and diameter.](https://reliefcam.com/guides/starter-tools-light.jpg)

## 4. Check the result, then run it

On **Generate**, the editor lists anything that stops the job and estimates the cutting time before you spend the
credit.

![The Generate tab before a credit is spent: the machine, size and depth, the bits you will need, and the estimated cutting time.](https://reliefcam.com/guides/generate-tab-light.jpg)

Every G-code file is simulated before you can download it. Look at the **Difference** view in the viewer:
blue is material left, grey is within tolerance, and red would be a gouge. A job that would gouge
the work beyond its tolerance fails and returns its credit rather than giving you the file.

![The Output tab after a job, with the times and the files, and the 3D view showing the Difference: grey is within tolerance and blue is material left.](https://reliefcam.com/guides/output-difference-light.jpg)

> **The first time you run a file, run it with the Z zero set correctly, the tool well above the
> work, and a hand on the feed hold.** ReliefCAM checks the toolpath against what you told it. It
> cannot check that your machine profile, your tool measurements or your workholding are right.

Files are kept for 90 days. Download the ZIP to keep them longer.