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TopoStackStudio
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Real terrain. Ready to make.

Turn real terrain into laser-cut topographic maps.

A place you love. A thing you make. Create layered terrain reliefs and flat topographic engravings from real elevation data, then export SVG files for your laser software.

Start creating Choose a first project See how it works

Free to use · No account required · SVG exports · Step-by-step assembly guide

Inspired by the landscape. Made by you.

A place to begin

Choose your first project.

Start with prepared Crater Lake settings, review your size and material, then generate and export. You can undo back to your previous design.

Small layered relief

A compact Crater Lake landscape with a simpler stack and no lake-floor carving.

150 × 100 mm · 3 mm sheets

Start small layered relief

Surveyed lake relief

Explore Crater Lake’s surveyed floor, then adjust the depth and stack to suit your material.

200 × 150 mm · 3 mm sheets

Start surveyed lake relief

Two ways to make it

Same landscape. Your kind of project.

Layered relief

Build terrain one sheet at a time. Elevation becomes a stack of contours, sized for your material thickness and the relief you want to show.

Cut panels, engraving companions, and an illustrated, step-by-step assembly guide take your project from preview to finished piece.

Cut · Score · Engrave How to make a layered topographic map

Flat engraving

Let the contours do the drawing. Create a topographic map on a single surface, with control over contour density and the details you include.

Export one SVG at your chosen physical size, with optional roads, trails, water, labels, a compass, and a scale bar.

One surface · Engrave-only SVG Create a contour map for engraving

Water, made your way

Two ways to finish your lake.

Color the wooden lake bed, or add a fitted acrylic surface. Both finishes start with the same layered terrain.

Painted wood

Keep the lake in wood and paint or stain the exposed steps. Turn on Water paint templates to export a stencil for each panel with visible water, then paint before gluing.

How to use water paint templates

Acrylic inserts

Turn on Acrylic water inserts to cut a fitted piece for each lake at its waterline. Cut the acrylic as a separate job, then fit it onto the support ledge using the assembly guide.

See the acrylic export files

You can combine both finishes: paint the lake bed before fitting clear acrylic over it. Illustrations show the finishes and assembly; your exported shapes follow your project.

Above the landscape

Give airspace a
new perspective.

Build the sky above your terrain. Turn FAA airspace into clear or tinted acrylic shelves, supported on rods at the heights your model represents.

Build it layered or solid, in clear or chart-colored acrylic. Preview the stack, then export separate acrylic cut files, rod lengths, and an illustrated assembly guide.

Make an airspace model See how it goes together

US FAA data · Layered projects · Decorative models, not for navigation

A new view of floors, ceilings, and the land below. Conceptual illustration.

From map to material

Find it. Shape it. Make it.

Start with the Crater Lake preview, then make a place your own.

  1. 01

    Choose a place

    Search for a location or enter coordinates, then frame the area you want to capture.

  2. 02

    Make it yours

    Choose layered relief or flat engraving. Set your output size, adjust the terrain, and add the map details that matter to you.

  3. 03

    Generate and export

    Generate fresh terrain, review the preview, and download your files for your laser software, with an illustrated assembly guide for layered reliefs. You can also use TopoStack through Atomm.

Try the terrain studio

First build? You've got this

Every layered relief comes with a step-by-step assembly guide.

Cutting the layers is only half the job. Your export includes an illustrated booklet that takes you from the first sheet off the laser to the last layer glued down.

  • 01

    A checklist for every sheet

    Tick off each file as it comes off the laser, with the layers each sheet holds.

  • 02

    One picture per layer

    See the stack so far with the new layer highlighted, so you always know where it goes. Small pieces are circled.

  • 03

    Only what is new at each step

    The gluing routine is explained once. Each step adds what is particular to its layer: which sheet the pieces come from, ids for pieces cut in parts, cutouts nested in other sheets, and what to paint first.

  • 04

    Print it or keep it open

    Three steps to a Letter page, or follow along on a tablet at the bench. It works offline.

See everything in the export

Inside the studio

Explore the Crater Lake terrain preview

See how real elevation becomes a stack of contours. Follow the example, then generate fresh terrain to create your own fabrication files.

TopoStack studio with freshly generated Crater Lake terrain and USGS surveyed lake-floor relief.
Crater Lake with USGS surveyed bathymetry where available. Gaps use existing terrain or modeled depths; depth is exaggerated.
Follow the Crater Lake project More examples: Grand Canyon, Mount Fuji and others

Behind the contours

Real terrain, with a little context.

Built on shared map data

TopoStack combines Mapzen elevation tiles with Protomaps and OpenStreetMap features. HydroLAKES and GLOBathy support lake detail. Exported projects include source attribution.

View data sources and credits

All sources, uses, and attribution

Your project, in your browser

Project settings are saved in this browser. Export a project-settings JSON file to keep a backup or move your settings to another device. Place search and map data require an internet connection.

Terrain and map data are intended for decorative projects, not surveying, navigation, or engineering. Review the exported artwork and your machine settings before fabrication.

Built in the open

Open source.
Built with AI.

TopoStack is my spare-time project. I’m a solo developer, and AI helps me turn ideas into working software and make the most of the time I have.

The code is open source, so you can explore how it works, follow its development, and help make it better.

Found a bug or have an idea? I’d love to hear it.

Star TopoStack on GitHub (opens in a new tab) Report a bug or share an idea(opens in a new tab)

Your landscape is waiting

Make something from somewhere.

Pick a place, explore its contours, and turn it into your next project.

Start creating

Before your first map

Is TopoStack free, and do I need an account?

TopoStack is free to use with no account required. Donations are optional, and every export is available without donating.

What files can I export?

Layered projects include SVG cut panels, engraving companions and a printable, step-by-step assembly guide. Flat engraving produces one SVG at your chosen physical size. Both workflows support a project-settings JSON backup.

Can I cut the initial Crater Lake preview?

Generate fresh terrain first. The bundled preview lets you explore the controls; fabrication export requires current real terrain and all requested map data.

Where is my project saved?

Settings are saved in this browser. Export a settings backup before clearing browser storage or moving devices. Imported and restored settings need fresh generation before fabrication export.

Keep the contours coming

Support TopoStack

If TopoStack helps you make something meaningful, consider supporting its development. Donations are optional; every export is available without donating.

Make a donation (opens in a new tab)