Countertop software: Moraware, Slabsmith and the programs that run a shop
Countertop shops use software to turn templates into cut files, plan slab layouts and manage jobs. Explore the main types below to see where each fits in the process.
Programming
CAD/CAM programming for stone (Alphacam, RhinoCAM)
CAD/CAM turns a field template and shop drawing into toolpaths for the bridge saw and CNC. The programmer draws or imports the job, places seams and edges, nests the parts, selects tooling and cut order, and exports a file the machine can read. These decisions affect accuracy and material use.
Its job
Drawings into machine-ready cut files
Turns
Shop drawing into slab tool paths
Who runs it
The CAD/CAM programmer
Where it sits
Between the templater and the saw/CNC
Feeds
Bridge saw, waterjet, and CNC
What the programmer does in it
The job comes in as a template file and a shop drawing. The programmer builds the cut program step by step:
Draw or import the job: pull in the digital template and the piece drawings
Place seams and edges: decide where the top breaks and what edge profile each run gets
Nest the parts on the slab: fit the pieces around veining, flaws, and the slab's real outline to get the layout the customer approved
Pick the tooling and cut order: which blade, bit, or profiling wheel, and the sequence that keeps the part safe on the table
Post the file: output the program in the language the specific machine speaks
The main programs you'll see
A few names cover most US shops:
Alphacam, Stone module (by Hexagon): a widely used standalone CAM package for cutting and profiling stone
RhinoCAM (MecSoft): CAM that runs on top of Rhino 3D, common where shops need heavy 3D work like sinks, shower parts, and sculpted edges
Machine-native CAM: software written by the machine maker and shipped with its own equipment, like Breton's Maestro or Intermac's B_Solid. Not every maker writes its own: Park Industries pairs its machines with Alphacam, so ask which CAM a shop runs
DDX easySTONE: a stone-specific CAD/CAM package used in US shops
Native CAM vs. a standalone package
Many saws and CNCs run their maker's own CAM right at the machine, and for straight tops with standard edges that's often all a shop needs. Shops reach for a standalone package like Alphacam or RhinoCAM when they want one programming environment across several machines, more control over nesting and tool paths, or 3D shapes the native software handles poorly. Plenty of shops run both: native CAM at the saw, a standalone package in the office.
Programming skills
Programming involves more than running an existing file. The programmer assesses the slab, works around flaws, places seams and chooses a cut order that protects fragile areas. The software supports these decisions, but the programmer remains responsible for them. Shop-floor experience is useful when learning CAD/CAM.
Good to know
An accurate cut file starts with an accurate template. Programmers and templaters need to resolve missing or unclear measurements before cutting.
Good nesting reduces waste. It can fit more parts on a slab or position a flaw inside material that will be removed for a cutout.
"Posting" means translating your program into the exact code a given machine runs. A file built for one brand of CNC won't drop straight into another: standalone CAM needs a postprocessor matched to the machine, controller and configuration, while native CAM may handle it internally.
Knowing the trade beats knowing the software: a programmer who has run a saw makes cut-order and tooling calls a pure CAD operator misses.
Standard 2cm and 3cm tops program fast; sinks, waterfall miters, and curved work are where 3D-capable tools like RhinoCAM earn their place.
This is the CAD in CAD/CAM, too: template cleanup, seam and cutout detailing, and the shop drawings happen here. Most shops draft right in the CAM package, and some run standalone 2D CAD (AutoCAD, DraftSight, BricsCAD) alongside it.
The software you'll hear named
AlphacamStone module · Hexagon
RhinoCAMMecSoft, on Rhino 3D
Machine-native CAMfrom the machine makers
DDX easySTONEstone-specific CAM
Layout
Slab imaging & layout software (Slabsmith)
Common in mid-to-high-end shops, spreading fastSlabsmith · SlabWare›
Slab imaging software turns a photograph of the actual slab into a calibrated layout. The programmer positions parts against its veining, matches the pattern across seams and backsplashes, and works around knots or fissures. This gives the shop and customer a shared view of the plan before cutting.
Its job
Lay out parts on the actual slab photo
Turns
Raw slab photos into calibrated cut layouts
Who uses it
Programmers, layout techs, sometimes salespeople
Where it sits
Between slab receiving and the saw/CNC
Pairs with
The slab-imaging camera station (hardware)
What the software does
Calibrates each slab photo so on-screen measurements match the real slab
Lets you place and rotate parts on the actual veining, not a blank rectangle
Vein-matches across a seam so the pattern flows from one piece into the next
Runs the pattern up a backsplash to line up with the countertop below it
Steers flaws, including knots, fissures and resin spots, into cutouts and offcuts
Tracks remnants and what slab stock is on hand
Where it fits in the flow
It sits between the slab arriving at the shop and the stone getting cut. The layout decisions made here are what the saw and CNC follow.
Slabs get photographed at the imaging station as they come in
The programmer lays out the job on screen and locks in seam positions
The approved layout feeds the saw or CNC and guides where parts are cut
Customers can be shown exactly where their seams and veining will land before anything is cut
Slabsmith: the system to recognize
Slabsmith, developed by Northwood Designs, is the name you will hear most for digital slab layout. Other packages, including SlabKast, handle photo-based inventory.
Builds a high-resolution 'digital slab' calibrated to true dimensions
Its vein-matching tools overlay slabs to line up bookmatches and seams
Doubles as a slab inventory system: photos, sizes, and where each slab lives
SlabWare is a photo-based slab inventory and catalog system: business and inventory software, not the calibrated nesting Slabsmith does
Who runs it and what to learn
This usually falls to the programmer or a dedicated layout tech, and sometimes an estimator or salesperson driving it for customer approvals.
An eye for stone: reading the movement and knowing which flaws matter and which don't
Comfort with the camera station and keeping the slab photo library organized
Understanding seams, overhangs, and how a cut list maps onto the available slab area
Enough software fluency to nest parts, tag remnants, and export a clean layout
Good to know
Accurate measurements depend on correct photo calibration. Lighting and imaging-station setup matter as much as the software.
Vein matching depends on having both slabs of a bookmatched pair photographed before either one gets cut. Miss the shot and you can't recover the match on screen.
A good layout produces more usable parts and remnants from the same slab, reducing the material needed for later work.
The software displays the veining. The programmer still needs to judge the match and confirm that it meets the customer’s approved layout.
This is the software side of the slab-imaging station covered in the machines section: the camera and rig are the hardware, the layout decisions live here.
The software you'll hear named
SlabsmithPark Industries
SlabWareslab inventory, not nesting
Field
Laser & digital templating software (LT-2D3D, Proliner)
Standard on any modern templating rigProdim · Laser Products · Flexijet 3D · ETemplate Systems›
Laser templating is the trade's everyday name for countertop templating done digitally; the software takes the raw points a laser or stylus captures on the job site and builds them into a clean, dimensioned template file the shop can cut from. The strips of luan and hot glue that once built the template by hand became a laser or stylus and a DXF. The software runs on the templating device itself (or a paired tablet or laptop) and lets the templater do CAD right there in the kitchen, adding in seams, edge profiles, overhangs, and cutouts before the file ever leaves the site. An accurate file helps production run smoothly. An error can mean scrapping a slab.
Its job
Captured points into a cut-ready template file
Turns
Field measurements into a dimensioned CAD drawing
Who runs it
The countertop templater, on site
Where it sits
First digital step, feeds the programmer
Output
A DXF the shop's CAD/CAM reads
How laser templating works
The templating device, a laser head (LT-2D3D Laser Templator, Flexijet 3D) or a contact stylus (Prodim Proliner), records hundreds of points along the walls, cabinets, and reference edges. The software stitches those points into a true-to-scale outline you can see and edit on the spot.
Cleans up and closes the captured outline into a usable shape
Lets you add seams, edge profiles, overhangs, and radius corners
Places cutouts for the sink, cooktop, faucet holes, and outlets
Carries notes and dimensions the shop needs to fabricate
Where it fits in the flow
It is the handoff between the field and the shop. The file the templater saves is what the programmer opens to lay parts on slabs and drive the saw or CNC.
Templater measures on site and builds the file in the software
File exports (usually as DXF) back to the shop
Programmer imports it into the shop's CAD/CAM to nest and cut
A clean template means less rework and fewer callbacks
The real tools
A few vendors dominate the field-templating side in the US. They pair a capture device with software that does the CAD.
Prodim: the Proliner, a contact-point measuring system (a measuring pen you touch to each point), with Prodim's software; widely used in countertop shops
Laser Products Industries: the LT-2D3D Laser Templator, with the template drawn up in its LT3Raptor software on a paired tablet
ETemplate Systems: the ELaser measuring system, with its Measure Manager software
Flexijet 3D: a motorized laser head on a tripod, driven from its own on-site templating software
Why the countertop templater's skill still matters
The software is only as good as what you feed it. The device captures geometry, but the human decides how the top gets built.
You choose seam positions: bad seams show and can crack
You confirm overhang, backsplash heights, and finished-edge sides
Slab thickness (2cm or 3cm) and edge profile get set here, not guessed later
Square footage and cutout sizes flow from this file, so accuracy is everything
Good to know
Software cannot correct a measurement taken from a bowed wall or a cabinet that has not been set correctly. Check site conditions before relying on the captured points.
The file is the shop's record of the job: the programmer trusts it over anyone's memory of the site visit
Seams are decided at template time, not on the saw; moving one later usually means re-measuring
This is field CAD, not full shop CAD/CAM. It builds the template and hands off; nesting and toolpaths happen downstream
A templater who knows the software is far more valuable than one who only knows how to run the device
The software you'll hear named
ProdimProliner
Laser ProductsLT-2D3D · LT software
Flexijet 3Dlaser-arm
ETemplate SystemsEPhoto, photo-based
Office
Shop & job management software (Moraware and others)
Standard in most established fab shopsMoraware · ActionFlow · StoneApp · Stone Profit Systems›
Shop management software handles quotes, work orders, scheduling, job tracking and invoicing. Estimators price the work, coordinators schedule templating and installation, production managers track progress, and owners review costs and results in one system.
Its job
Run every job from lead to paid invoice
Turns quotes into
Work orders, schedules, and reports
Who lives in it
Estimators, coordinators, production managers, owners
Where it sits
Between the customer and the shop floor
Also does
Quoting, scheduling, and job tracking
Main functions
Think of it as the shop's operating system for jobs. Everything about a countertop project lives in one record instead of scattered across sticky notes, spreadsheets, and someone's memory.
Quoting and estimating: price a job by square footage, edge footage, cutouts for sinks and cooktops, and waste factor. Sometimes a module of the same platform, sometimes a separate product on its own subscription
Convert a won quote straight into a work order without re-keying anything
Schedule template, fabrication, and install so dates line up and nothing double-books a crew
Track each job through its stages: lead, template, drawing, cut, install, and payment
Report on throughput, backlog, and which jobs are stuck
Where it sits in the flow
This is the layer above the machines. It doesn't cut stone. It decides what gets cut, when, and for whom, then hands the shop-floor and CAD/CNC software the job to execute.
Upstream: the customer, the dealer or builder, and the incoming lead
Here: the office prices, schedules, and tracks the job
Downstream: templating devices, CAD/programming software, and the saw/CNC that make the parts
Many shops connect it to accounting so invoices and payments flow back in
Who runs it and why it matters to you
Shop management software may be unfamiliar when you first join the trade. Leads and managers use it throughout the day to coordinate work. Understanding it is useful when moving from fabrication into supervision.
Estimator: builds quotes and gets the square footage and edge counts right
Coordinator / scheduler: keeps template and install dates realistic
Production manager: moves jobs through the stages and clears bottlenecks
Owner: reads the reports to see where money and time are going
The real tools
A few names cover most US shops, and most standardize on one suite. Estimating usually lives inside these systems rather than as a separate program.
Moraware: a widely used name in US countertop shops, now part of ECI Software Solutions; Systemize (formerly JobTracker) is the job-workflow, scheduling and production system, and CounterGo is its drawing-based estimating tool that counts square footage, edges, and cutouts from a sketch
ActionFlow: job and production management built for stone and countertop shops
StoneApp: fabrication-focused management software for the trade
Stone Profit Systems: a broader ERP that adds slab inventory and wholesale on top of job management
Good to know
"Estimating" and "job management" usually aren't separate purchases. The quote tool is built into the same suite the shop schedules and tracks jobs in.
A quote here isn't just a price; it's a drawing with square footage, linear edge footage, and cutouts already counted, which is what makes the number defensible.
Watch the word "template": in this software it means the scheduled visit to measure the actual job site, not a reusable file.
Whoever controls this system controls the schedule, so learning it is a fast track from the shop floor toward lead or coordinator roles.
Shops care most about the handoff: a clean work order from the office is what keeps the saw and CNC from cutting the wrong thing.
The software you'll hear named
MorawareSystemize + CounterGo
ActionFlow
StoneApp
Stone Profit SystemsERP + inventory
A name you'll hear Moraware is a widely used countertop-shop software suite, and the name you'll hear most often for running the office. "We're on Moraware" tells you how a shop quotes and schedules.
Upstream
Kitchen & room design software (upstream of the shop)
Mostly upstream of the shop2020 Design Live · Chief Architect · SketchUp · Cabinet Vision · ProKitchen · KCD›
Before a single slab gets cut, someone designs the kitchen. A designer, kitchen dealer, or showroom lays out the whole room, including cabinets, appliances and countertops, in design software, and those drawings and dimensions are what land on the countertop shop's estimator's desk. It's the front of the pipeline: usually run by upstream designers and dealers, though countertop businesses with their own showroom or design service run it too. Either way, its drawings and first numbers feed your estimator and the fabrication that follows.
Its job
Lay out the kitchen and its cabinets
Who runs it
Mostly designers and dealers; some shops with a design service
Turns
Room plans into quotes and rough dimensions
Where it sits
Upstream: before estimating and templating
Main functions
Lays out the whole kitchen in 2D and 3D: cabinets, appliances, islands, and the countertop runs
Produces dimensioned drawings and elevations, plus a rough square-foot count for the tops
Renders the room so the homeowner can see it before anyone commits to a stone
Feeds the quote: the design's numbers are what the estimator prices from
The real software you'll see named
2020 Design Live (Cyncly): long-time standard in US kitchen-and-bath showrooms and dealers
Chief Architect: widely used by remodelers and designers for whole-room residential work
SketchUp (Trimble): flexible 3D modeling, popular for concept and presentation drawings
Cabinet Vision (Hexagon): cabinet-shop CAD/CAM that also carries countertop layout
Others in the mix: ProKitchen, KCD, and AutoCAD or Revit on the architectural side
Why a fabricator should care
The plans that reach your estimator start here. Knowing the source helps you read them right
Design dimensions are nominal: drawn to cabinet sizes, not to the actual walls
You never cut from design numbers. The field template is the source of truth
Walls run out of square and cabinets shift during install; the template catches what the drawing can't
Where it hands off
Designer or dealer draws the plans, then the shop's estimator prices, the templater verifies on site, and the programmer cuts
The design file rarely flows straight into shop software. The job is usually re-drawn from the template
Details set upstream (sink model, overhangs, seam wishes) drive rework downstream when they're vague or change late
Good to know
"Upstream" means before your shop. You can spend a career never opening 2020 Design, yet you'll read its output constantly
A polished 3D rendering is a sales tool, not a cut sheet; treat every dimension on it as a starting estimate
The square-foot number on a design quote almost always moves once the field template comes back
If a design asks for something the stone can't do, such as an unsupported overhang or a poorly placed seam, it is usually caught at template or layout, not in the design software
Sink, faucet, and cooktop models drive the cutouts; when those aren't locked in the design, expect changes later
