PRIME MOTIONInlays with existing tools
An inlay is a shape cut into one board (the pocket) and a matching shape cut from another (the plug), glued together and planed flush. Prime Motion has no inlay generator: you model both halves with the ordinary tools, including tapered Extrude, Text Cut and Combine, and machine them with ordinary operations. That keeps every dimension in front of you and editable.
The taper comes from the bit
A V-bit cuts walls that lean at half its included angle. A 60° bit leaves walls 30° from vertical; a 90° bit leaves 45°. Model the pocket and the plug with that same taper so the walls you draw are the walls the bit will cut.
| V-bit included angle | Wall taper |
|---|---|
| 60° | 30° |
| 90° | 45° |
The pocket
- Sketch the shape on the top face of the base board, or place it with Text.
- Finish the sketch, arm Create (Extrude) and tap the profile.
- Set Op to Cut and the distance to the pocket depth.
- Set the taper so the walls lean outward toward the top — wider at the surface, narrower at the bottom — at the bit's wall taper.
- Tap Apply.
Text keeps its Text record and uses Text Cut; a star or another closed sketch profile uses ordinary Extrude Cut. Check the offered depth before making the plug. Thin strokes and small junctions can limit a tapered text cut to a very shallow depth. Enlarge the lettering or edit its outlines as a sketch when the accepted depth is too small for the job.
The plug
The plug uses the same outline and narrows toward the face that enters the pocket. Use the accepted pocket depth when sizing it, leaving the intended glue gap at the bottom.
- In the assembled pose, make a separate blank aligned with the base. Start it just above the pocket floor by the intended floor clearance, and extend it beyond the base's top by the thickness you want for the carrier. Extrude it as New Body.
- Use Combine → Cut with the blank as target and the pocketed base as tool. Turn Keep Tools on. The base remains, and subtracting it from the blank leaves the matching raised artwork attached to the carrier, including openings around the base's counter islands.
- Keep both Design bodies assembled for the fit check. Give the plug its own Tool Run with Manufacturing model on. Put the flat outside of the carrier on the bed and arrange it, so the raised artwork faces the cutter. Viewed from the cutter, asymmetric artwork is reversed; turning the finished plug back over must bring it into the pocket's orientation.
Leave a gap between the bottom of the plug and the floor of the pocket: the plug seats on its tapered walls, not on its tip, and the glue needs room.
What will not fit
- Sharp inside points of the outline become small radii in the pocket, because the bit's tip is not perfectly sharp. Keep fine serifs and hairline strokes out of inlay artwork.
- Thin strokes pinch as the walls converge. Inspect the accepted cut depth before sizing the plug; the glue gap must be smaller than that depth.
- Counters, such as the inside of an "O", stay as uncut islands in the base. Preserve the matching opening in the plug so it can fit around the island.
Check both bodies with Interference in Analyze before machining.
Machining both halves
Machine the pocket and the plug as two Tool Runs in Manufacturing: a pocket or V-Carve operation for each, with the same V-bit. On the plug, clear the background and keep the raised artwork as islands. Check the selected removal area and simulate each setup before posting. Simulation does not establish the fit of real wood. Pick the base's pocket-entry rims and the flipped plug's artwork-tip rims; the edges at the other end of each tapered wall have a different size.
If the plug's clearing boundary is the carrier perimeter, remove the raised perimeter rim that the V-carve would otherwise leave. A shallow flat-tool contour centred on that perimeter can clear it while retaining the carrier. Allow room outside the board for the cutter and leads. See 2D strategies and the complete two-colour inlay sign tutorial.