Inventables

Inventables, Inc. develops and sells desktop CNC (computer numerical control) carving equipment together with the software, cutting tools, workholding hardware and materials used to run it. Its current flagship hardware line is the X-Carve Pro CNC system, offered in 4x2 and 4x4 working-area configurations at list prices of $4,995 and $7,495 respectively, and financed through installment options starting at $167 per month. The machine is described as having a 5.5-foot rigid aluminum gantry with 25mm ball screws. Alongside machines, the company sells CNC router bits and end mills, V-bits and tapered ball-nose bits, vacuum-table workholding products such as the AirWeights system and fixture plates, and sheet materials including wood, acrylic and expanded PVC, often bundled with matching cutting bits.

The software side of the business is Easel, a browser-based CAD/CAM application that handles design, automatic 2D and 3D toolpath generation, 3D cut simulation and sending jobs to the machine without requiring users to write G-code. Easel is sold in tiers: a free Easel Basic plan limited to one carve or export per week, Easel Starter at $8 per month (or $72 per year) with raster carving, ramping plunges and 20 carves or exports per week, and Easel Pro at $24 per month (or $216 per year) adding 3D carving and V-carving, a design library of more than 10 million vectors, 300-plus fonts, custom bits and materials, material tiling, multiple machine profiles and unlimited carves. Easel also runs a project gallery and community forum where users publish and copy projects.

The company positions itself in subtractive desktop manufacturing (3D carving) rather than additive 3D printing. Earlier proprietary machines included the X-Carve and Carvey, the latter subsequently discontinued.

Founding story

Inventables was founded in 2002 by Zach Kaplan with co-founder Keith Schacht, initially oriented around sourcing novel materials and finding new commercial applications and users for them; Kaplan serves as CEO. Kaplan has framed the company's mission around enabling digital manufacturing for individuals, with stated goals of helping 3 million digital manufacturers earn income from their work and placing a 3D carver in every classroom.

Business model

Inventables combines hardware sales with recurring software subscriptions. Revenue comes from CNC machine systems, consumables and accessories (bits, workholding, sheet materials) sold direct through its online store, plus monthly or annual subscriptions to the Easel software in Starter and Pro tiers; a free Basic tier with weekly carve limits serves as an entry point. Consumer and business financing options are offered to spread the cost of machine purchases.

Direct e-commerce sales of machines, tooling, workholding and materials; tiered SaaS subscriptions for Easel ($8/month Starter, $24/month Pro, or $72/$216 annually), with a free Basic plan.

Traction

Easel reports more than 1 million maker sign-ups, support for 148 machines across 25 manufacturers, and more than 40 new features shipped in the past year. At the time of its 2019 Series C, Inventables said it was on track for 4 million carving projects that year. The founder has been cited as having led the company to sell over 31,000 products.

Latest developments

Product marketing centers on the X-Carve Pro 4x2 and 4x4 systems, with a promotional $1,000 discount on 4x2 machines, and on Easel's 3D carving capability including STL import. Easel's site advertises three subscription tiers, V-carve inlay functionality discussed in its community forum, and continued monthly feature releases; the Easel site carries a 2026 copyright notice under Easel Software, Inc.