Apply for a pilot

Design that knows how it’s made.

Parametric designs checked against the CNC shop’s machine, material and tooling limits at the design stage.

For manufacturers with CNC routers, and the designers who build their products. Limits held once, as data. Each variant generated with the shop’s measured stock, and anything that can’t be made flagged with the reason.

See if you qualifySee how it works
Close-up of a CNC router spindle with a cutting tool fitted.

Where do your limits live today?

Are your bed sizes, sheet stock, material thicknesses and cutter limits hard-coded into individual files, or held by whoever runs CAM? When a design breaks one, does it show up at CAM prep and need redrawing?

How it works

  1. Your limits in one database. Bed sizes, sheet stock, measured thicknesses and cutters, recorded once, as data.
  2. Your materials in the model. Each one an input, at the thickness of the sheet you actually have.
  3. Every change checked at the design stage. Anything you can’t make flagged with the reason, such as a part longer than the bed. Your team still checks the output before cutting.

Datafurn can only check the limits you’ve recorded. Anything not in the database can still reach the shop. How Datafurn works

Who it’s for

Grasshopper users

Your definitions as they are, with every design checked against your recorded shop limits. Pilots for Grasshopper users

Manufacturers who redraw every size

No Grasshopper needed. We build a parametric model of one product family: one design that generates every size and option, checked against your limits. Pilots for product families

Where it first ran

The approach first ran at our founder’s made-to-order furniture business, where customer configurations were bounded by design rules before any model was generated. Datafurn adds the layer that was missing there: your machine, material and tooling limits. About Datafurn

FAQ

What is Datafurn?
Datafurn is software for parametric products made on CNC routers. It holds a shop's machine, material and tooling limits as data, generates each design with the shop's measured stock and checks it against the shop's machines and tools at the design stage.
Is Datafurn related to DataFurn, the EU furniture analytics platform?
No. Datafurn Ltd is a UK software company based in London, registered in England and Wales (company no. 16623948). It isn't affiliated with DataFurn, the EU-funded furniture analytics platform.
Who is Datafurn for?
Independent manufacturers cutting sheet materials on 3-axis flatbed CNC routers, with at least one product made in different sizes or options. That includes Grasshopper users and manufacturers that redraw each new size by hand.
Do I need Grasshopper?
No. As part of the pilot, we either connect Datafurn to one of your existing Grasshopper definitions or build a model of one product family from your drawings.
What does deterministic mean here?
The same design always gets the same result, and every flag traces back to a limit you've recorded. Datafurn doesn't predict or estimate what your shop can cut.
Does Datafurn use AI?
No. Datafurn retrieves the limits you've recorded; it doesn't use AI to decide them. Anything that sets parameters through Datafurn, whether a person, a configurator or an AI tool, is checked against those recorded limits.
Who owns my designs and data?
You own your product designs, drawings and production data. Datafurn owns its software. If we build a model for you, who owns it and what you can do with it after the pilot is agreed in writing before we start.
Can I use Datafurn now?
Through the pilot. We're recruiting 3–5 independent CNC manufacturers for Stage 1. Each pilot covers one product family, and we do the setup.
What does the pilot cost?
Nothing. The pilot is free, needs no new hardware and changes nothing on your machine. You provide your machine, material and tooling data, and review time from an owner or CAD/CAM lead.

Now recruiting pilot manufacturers

The Stage 1 pilot has 3–5 places for independent manufacturers who cut sheet materials on 3-axis flatbed routers and make at least one product in different sizes.

We set up the system with your limits, and you review the output before anything is cut. The pilot is free, with no new hardware and no changes to your machine.

Apply for a pilot