Abf : Best Free CNC Furniture Manufacturing Sketchup Plugin

ABF is a free SketchUp plugin that speeds up the process of exporting CNC cutting files in furniture production, helping reduce material waste and labor costs. The end goal of ABF is to export a DXF file with separated layers, which is then imported into specialized CNC machining software such as Aspire, Mastercam or AlphaCAM to assign toolpaths and milling bits.

General information:

• Author: Dang Phi Bao
• Website: Abf Solution
• Works with SketchUp 2018 through 2025
• Windows only — there is no Mac/macOS build of ABF (the developer cites a lack of funding to maintain a Mac version), so cut-shop workflows that depend on it must stay on Windows.
• As of 2026, all features remain completely free for real production use

Main feature:

• Create hinge bore holes and screw/connector holes.
• Create sliding door grooves and backboard grooves.
• Nesting — arranges the boards on the stock sheet.
• Assign edge banding (with offset compensation).
• Export labels for printing.
• Export DXF files before handing off to specialized CNC software.

Review the ABF plugin

ABF is one of the most complete and fully featured SketchUp plugins for exporting CNC cutting files directly from SketchUp. The closest free alternative is the actively maintained OpenCutList plugin (now on v5/v6, cross-platform for Windows and Mac, SketchUp 2017+), which also does cut-list statistics, cutting diagrams, labels and DXF/SVG export. The key difference is fabrication intent: OpenCutList describes panels for cutting and reporting, but it does not generate the machining geometry ABF does — hinge/connector bore holes, screw drilling and hardware placement. That joinery-and-hardware layer is exactly what a nesting CNC needs to drill in one pass, and it remains ABF’s main reason to exist.

A practical tip most tutorials skip: ABF exports each operation type onto its own DXF layer (outline, drilling, grooves, etc.). Before nesting, name your panels and assign materials/thickness in SketchUp first — ABF reads those properties to group parts and lay out the sheet correctly, so a few minutes of clean component naming saves a lot of re-sorting inside Aspire or Mastercam later.

Download

For the latest build, feature requests and active support, the plugin is also distributed and discussed by the author on the getabf.net website and the ABF — furniture CNC thread on the SketchUp Community forum.