Mozaik Post Processor Setup Guide — CNC Commissioning Steps

What a post processor is, and why it decides how your first month goes

When cabinet design finishes, what remains is a set of parts with dimensions, grooves, hardware bores and toolpaths. Your CNC machine understands none of that directly — it understands only its own controller’s language. The post processor is the translator between the two.

This matters more in practice than it sounds. Two shops with identical software and comparable machines can have completely different experiences: one cuts its first sheet within a day, the other spends a month chasing wrong depths, mirrored parts and programs that halt mid-run. The difference is almost always post processor and tool library configuration, not the software itself.

This guide covers the practical steps for commissioning CNC output in Mozaik, from checking machine compatibility through to the first real cut.

How Mozaik connects to your machine

The chain has four links. Cabinets are designed and parts generated parametrically. The Optimizer then nests those parts onto sheets and determines the machining operations for each. The tool library decides which tool performs each operation, at what depth and what speed. Finally the post processor converts all of it into a file your controller can read.

One thing sets Mozaik apart from many competitors here: post files are stored as plain text and can be opened and edited in an ordinary editor such as Notepad. If your machine behaves unexpectedly, you don’t have to wait for the next software release — you or your machinery supplier can correct the file directly.

Gather this before you start

Most commissioning delays trace back to the user not knowing their own machine’s basics. Collect these first:

• Exact machine brand and model, including year of manufacture
• Controller type — this matters more than the machine brand
• Input file format the controller accepts
• A known-good G-code file from that machine — the single most valuable thing you can have
• Table dimensions and spoilboard thickness
• Origin position and X/Y axis directions
• Tool list with diameter, station number and permitted speeds
• Whether reference pins exist for sheet alignment

Step 1: Check machine compatibility

Mozaik publishes a long list of supported machines and covers the common G-code dialects including Fanuc, Syntec, Siemens, Osai, Mach 3, Mach 4, Centroid, Masso, Techno and TPACad. Output formats include .nc, .tap, .cix, .mpr, .tcn, .prg, .cnc, .anc and .txt among others.

The supported list is unusually broad and includes a large number of Chinese-built routers along with the RichAuto, NCStudio, DSP and Syntec controllers that ship with them. If you bought a machine from an importer rather than a major European brand, there is a good chance a stock post already exists for it.

Match your exact model against the official list before buying a licence. If you’re still shopping for a machine, do this check before the purchase rather than after.

Step 2: If your machine isn’t listed

Absence from the list doesn’t mean incompatibility. The published list is not exhaustive, and many custom posts exist that were never added to it.

In that case, send your machine details along with a working G-code file to Mozaik’s post processor team. That sample file is the most important part of the request, because it shows exactly how the header is structured, how tool changes are issued, how coordinates are formatted and what ends the program. Building or adapting a custom post typically takes up to two weeks, so don’t leave this to the final days before go-live.

On cost: stock post processors are supplied free, and the first hour of post integration with a technician is provided at no charge. Further post-specific support time is billed hourly.

Step 3: Build the tool library

This step determines more than the post processor itself, and it produces the majority of early errors. The tool library is reached through the Optimizer’s library section. For each tool, enter accurately:

• Station number matching the real position in the machine — not an arbitrary number
• Tool diameter, which directly drives cutter compensation and final part size
• Operation type: perimeter cutting, grooving, hardware boring, pocketing
• Spoilboard penetration depth, typically half a millimetre to a millimetre beyond sheet thickness
• Feed rate and spindle speed appropriate to the tool and material

A common mistake: entering nominal rather than actual tool diameter. A 6 mm cutter that has become 5.8 mm after sharpening will, if recorded as 6 mm, produce every part with a 0.2 mm error — invisible in a single cabinet, obvious when assembling a ten-unit run.

Step 4: Configure flipped sheet programs

When a part needs operations on both faces, the sheet must be turned over, and this is the most precision-sensitive part of the setup. If referencing is wrong, second-side operations land offset or mirrored relative to the first.

Mozaik adds a squaring cut automatically so parts stay referenced against the machine’s alignment pins after the sheet is flipped. If your router has no reference pins, the software’s built-in alignment system works on any flat table machine it posts to.

Before the first production run, cut a test part with two-sided operations and verify with callipers that second-side bores land exactly opposite where they should.

Step 5: Simulate before sending

Mozaik lets you view operations on nested sheets in 3D and review and edit toolpaths and generated code before anything reaches the shop floor. Don’t skip this — a few minutes on screen costs less than a ruined sheet.

While simulating, check that operation order is sensible (bores and grooves before the final perimeter cut), that small parts stay tabbed to the sheet until the end, and that no toolpath crosses a part that has already been cut free.

Step 6: Dry run, then first cut

Never run a first production program on new stock. Follow this order:

1. Run the program with the tool raised and no sheet loaded, to confirm travel limits and origin
2. Load scrap stock and run at reduced depth
3. Measure several parts with callipers and compare against the cut list
4. Check groove depth and hardware bore diameter separately
5. Only after all of the above passes, run on real material

Editing the post file: what usually changes

Most shops never need to edit manually, but if your machine runs a modified controller these are the sections most likely to need attention:

• Program header and footer — the start and end commands each controller expects
• Units — millimetres or inches, where a mistake is the single most destructive error possible
• Tool change handling — some controllers require a pause and operator confirmation
• Spindle speed control and dwell time before cutting begins
• Lead-in and lead-out — the angle and offset at which the tool enters and leaves the geometry, which directly affects edge quality

Back up the post file before any edit, and apply changes one at a time. Changing several parameters at once makes it impossible to tell which correction actually worked.

Troubleshooting common problems

Symptom	Likely cause
Parts cut mirrored	X or Y axis direction in settings doesn’t match the machine
All parts off by a few tenths	Actual tool diameter differs from the library value
Tool cuts into spoilboard, or doesn’t cut through	Sheet thickness or penetration depth set incorrectly
Program halts mid-run	Tool change command doesn’t match what the controller expects
Second-side operations offset	Flipped sheet settings or pin referencing incorrect
Dimensions ten times too large or small	Millimetres and inches transposed
Rough, stepped cut edges	Feed rate, spindle speed or lead-in settings unsuitable

Frequently asked questions

Can I write my own post?

Yes — post files are open text, and experienced users do edit or rewrite theirs. For getting started, though, using a stock post and requesting adaptation from support is faster and lower risk.

I have one machine and want to add a second. Is that a problem?

No. You can define a separate post per machine and choose which one to output for at production time.

Will a software update wipe my post processor?

Back up the entire program folder before any update. That’s the vendor’s own recommendation and it matters especially once you’ve hand-edited your post.

My machine is point-to-point or pod-and-rail, not a nesting router. Is it supported?

The standard CNC edition targets nesting routers. Single-part machines, pod-and-rail and vertical CNCs are covered at the higher product tier. Raise your machine type with the vendor before purchase.

How long until I’m in real production?

Post commissioning usually takes one or two sessions, but reaching stable production takes longer, because you also need to implement your shop’s construction standards, material library and hardware catalogue. Budget one to two weeks for the whole exercise.

Conclusion

Commissioning CNC output is an engineering task, not a software task. The software only translates; what gets translated is defined by you. If the tool library is accurate, axis directions are correctly defined and you dry-run before every first cut, most of the common failures never happen at all.

The practical advantage of Mozaik here is the combination of open post files and broad controller coverage — which matters most for shops whose machine runs a non-standard or modified controller, and which is often the difference between a one-day setup and a month of trial and error.

Note that exact menu paths and some setting names differ between software versions. Before applying any change, verify values against the build installed on your system and that version’s official documentation.

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