Laser Cutting

؜Laser cutting is a manufacturing process that uses a high-powered laser beam to cut, engrave, or etch materials into specific shapes or designs. This process is controlled by a computer and is often used on materials like wood, metal, plastic, and fabric. The laser precisely follows a digital design, allowing for complex and accurate cuts and engravings.

WHAT CAN A LASER CUTTER DO?

Cut

؜The laser cutter directs the beam of a laser to burn through the material in whatever pattern you design

؜Engrave / Score

؜The laser cutter can decrease the laser power to burn the surface of the material, but not cut through

Laser Cut

Laser Engrave

MATERIALS

Cardboard  3/16” 

Ensure it is laying flat

Cardstock Paper  60lb or thicker 

Be careful to watch while cutting

Plywood & Hardwood  1/8" or thinner  

Baltic Birch plywood is best

Acrylic  1/8" or thinner  

Don’t cut any other types of plastics

Leather  1/8" or thinner  

Ensure it is laying flat

Glass and Metal  Etching only

Cannot cut through

Laser Cutting

Student Work

The "Klutz" Robot

Lottery Pig

Rivalship

NuVu Tool(box)

3D Printing

Laser Cutting

Can create more complex parts

Low cost & less waste

Huge support community

Generally slower than laser cutting

Post processing may be required

More experience needed to 3D model parts

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Extremely fast & precise

Can quickly etch details

Material range

Requires active ventilation

Higher cost

Less community support

VS

To laser-cut your design, export it as an SVG (vector) file and send that to the printer or laser-cutting service. There are many programs and workflows you can use to create SVGs.

Laser cutting

1. XTool (Free, very easy)
2. Inkscape (free, intermediate)
3. Adobe Illustrator (, intermediate)
4. Fusion 360 (License needed , intermediate)
5. AutoCAD (License needed , intermediate)
6. Rhino ( License needed , Advanced )

؜2D Designs

To laser-cut your design, you need to draw your design. Using the laser cutter software you will draw and save your files as svgs.

An SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) is the "language" that laser cutters and design software use to talk to each other. Most pictures (like photos on a phone) are made of tiny colored squares called pixels. If you zoom in, they look blurry and blocky.

But an SVG is made of points and lines. It’s like a rubber band—you can stretch it as big as a house or make it as small as a penny, and the lines stay perfectly smooth and sharp every time!

Laser cutting

؜2D Designs

؜The laser cutter is like a tiny, super-fast car. The SVG file tells that car exactly how fast to drive:

1. Score: The car drives fast and light to draw a thin line.
2. Cut: The car drives slow and heavy to push all the way through the wood.
3. Engrave: The car zig-zags back and forth to color inside the lines.

؜2D Designs

Search online for ready made files

If you want to save time or get inspiration, you can search online for ready-made 2D drawings. Always check the file format (SVG for laser cutting). You can also import images into X Tool. The software will be able to trace the image and extract it for laser cutting.

2D Files (SVG) for Laser Cutting

1. Makercase
2. SVG Repo
3. Freepik
4. Vecteezy
5. Boxes.py / Box Generator
6. Pacdora
7. TemplateMaker

؜Once you're done, save your work and upload it on the platform (always have your file backed up online, save as SVG). Also take screenshots of your work to add to your final presentation .

Saving your work

؜Once ready, send to print. Make sure to imput the speed and power for each cut and engrave lines you have.

Check the next detailed presentation for an XTool tour.

1

Download the software

• Go to XTool.com
• Click on the Software tab
• Click on Download
• Choose your Operating system and download the software
• Drag the Software icon to the Application folder when prompted

؜2

Open the software

• Open the XTool software from your Applications folder
• Turn on the power to the cutter in the back right corner
• Connect the cutter to your laptop with the cord
• Select the cutter from the menu and click Connect

؜3

Create a File

• Begin by drawing a simple shape from the shape library
• Change the scale by pulling the square tabs around the shape
• Remove the locked pixel aspect ration by deflecting the lock feature

؜3

Create a File cont.

• Add more shapes to create a more complex shape. (you can use features such as rotate, align, and mirror to quickly build your collection of shapes).
• Once you have some shapes, select them all and click on Outline to create a line drawn around the exterior of the shapes
• Now you can delete the individual shapes and keep the outline

؜4

Choose the Settings

• With the shape not selected, choose the thickness of the material from the right side panel. This will tell the laser head how far vertically from the bed to be.
• With the shape selected, drop down the EasySet panel
• Choose whether you want to Score, Engrave, or Cut

؜4

Choose the Settings cont.

• There is a library of materials that have associated settings. You can choose from these materials as a starting point, though you may have to adjust them as you go to get the result you want.

؜4

Choose the Settings cont.

• For thicker cardboard, Power 90 and Speed 15 seems to work well

؜5

Send to the cutter

• Place the material in the bed of the lasercutter. Make sure the materials is lying flat and doesn't have any parts that the laser head could get caught on
• Turn on the filter that is below the lasercutter to full power

؜5

Send to the cutter

• With the object not selected, press Refresh in the right panel to see where your shape will land on the material
• Be sure the whole shape is on the material

5

Send to the cutter

• Click Go to process
• Press Start
• Press the glowing blue button on the machine to start the cut

؜5

Send to the cutter

• You can usually see if the cut went all the way through the material. If it doesn't seem like it did, without opening the lid, you can click Process again to recut

6

Pop out your cut!