Is there any way to make precise measured shapes in Easel? I need to cut out some odd shapes but it must be precise as they are pieces that will fit together in the end. I cant seem to find a way to do that.
If you are creating basic geometric shapes like squares or triangles, you can control them exactly with the shape generator. If you are doing something like a free hand shape, that is more complicated.
Can you tell us more or show us an image?
That looks like a rectangle with squares cut out of two of the corners. The cut outs in the corners may be a problem for you because that makes the X-Carve try to cut out an inside corner. It can get close, but the bit leaves a round place instead of a sharp corner on the inside.
The shape controls are the Square, Circle, Star Triangle. If you click on that the Cut/Shape control pops up and you can precisely tell Easel the dimensions of your big rectangle. Use the cut control to tell it to cut on the outside of your rectangle and the slider to tell it to cut all the way through. You may also want to tell Easel to use tabs to keep the piece from cutting completely free of the material.
Next you want to create the two cut out squares which you do with the same shape control. You can precisely control their size and position with the Cut/Shape control. You don’t have to eyeball it. In this case, you will want to tell Easel to cut on the inside of the shape. If you don’t do that, your corner cut outs will be too big by the the diameter of your bit.
Keep in mind that no CNC can cut inside square corners. You will need to tidy that up with some other tool, or you will need to model in a dog-bone and accept that as part of the design.