» Starting your design
» How to design for lasers
» Cutting lines
» Vector line engraving
» Raster fill engraving
» Using text
» Using images
» Removing double lines
» Exporting your file
» How to self check your design
» Print this guide
» Starting your design
» How to design for CNC routing
» Cutting lines
» Pocketing
» Removing an area of material
» Using text
» Detail
» Exporting your file
» Print this guide
You must use our design templates when creating your design.
After downloading, open your chosen template in Inkscape as you would a normal file, then create your design.
Ensure to create your design entirely within the template or it may be scaled incorrectly by our making system.
You can design for laser cutting on our three different material sheet sizes:
The color of the line you draw determines what the laser will do.
For example, if you draw a bird with a blue outline, the laser cutter/engraver will cut out a bird ...
And if you made the same line red, the laser would engrave the bird into the material. And so on.
It's that easy.
Now, here are the details ...
topThe core of your design will be the lines and shapes you want cut out.
The easiest way to visualize how this translates to your design is to imagine laying the pieces you want to make on a sheet of paper, then drawing around the edges before taking them away. Your design should look like the lines left on the paper.
To make a cutting line, draw a line or shape.
Then open the Object > Fill and Stroke window and set the 'Stroke style' width to 0.010 mm:
And set the stroke color to blue with the 'Stroke paint' RGBA values of 0, 0, 255, 255:
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Vector line engraving works in a similar way to cutting, but instead of slicing right through the material, the laser just marks the surface.
The laser will trace along the engraving line you draw in your design package. There are three different strengths available: light, medium and heavy – with corresponding depth and darkness. All three are very thin – approximately the width of the laser's beam.
Open the Object > Fill and Stroke window and set the 'Stroke style' width to 0.010 mm:
Open the Object > Fill and Stroke window and set the stroke color to magenta with the 'Stroke paint' RGBA values of 255, 0, 255, 255:
Open the Object > Fill and Stroke window and set the stroke color to green with the 'Stroke paint' RGBA values of 0, 255, 0, 255:
Open the Object > Fill and Stroke window and set the stroke color to red with the 'Stroke paint' RGBA values of 255, 0, 0, 255:
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Raster fill engraving must ALWAYS be indicated by using a fill color - never a stroke color. To turn a black/gray/white stroke into a filled shape in Inkscape, select your line and use the Path > Stroke to path command. If you want a very thin engraving line, we would always recommend using vector line engraving instead of raster fill engraving - as above.
The strength of the raster engraving ranges from black as the heaviest, down to very pale gray which is the lightest (or white, which is none). You can actually use any strength in between these two, as long as all your RGB values match. Make sure you only use solid, single color fills – no patterns or textures.
To give your raster engraving a clean edge, combine it with vector engraving around the outside of your shape.
Open the Object > Fill and Stroke window and set the fill color to light grey with the 'Fill' RGBA values of 230, 230, 230, 255:
Open the Object > Fill and Stroke window and set the fill color to medium grey with the 'Fill' RGBA values of 128, 128, 128, 255:
Open the Object > Fill and Stroke window and set the fill color to black with the 'Fill' RGBA values of 0, 0, 0, 255:
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Any text you use in your design file needs to be converted to paths. This way the laser cutter will follow your design correctly, regardless of whether or not it has the font installed.
This is as simple as selecting your text and then choosing Path > Object to Path from the top menu. You won't be able to edit the text once you've done this so do it last, after your spell check.
You can create text using raster fill engraving, vector line engraving, or a combination of both.
topOur making system only registers vector artwork. It will ignore images inserted in other formats (such as .jpg or .bmp).
To get around this, you'll need to trace the image you want to incorporate in your design. You can do this by selecting the inserted image and using the Path > Trace Bitmap window. You'll see there are several tracing options so try out a few until you find the one you want. Make sure your traced shapes are a single solid color.
Now close the ‘Trace Bitmap' window. The original image will still be behind your new traced image, so make sure you select it and delete it.
Next, click on the traced image with the ‘Edit paths by nodes' tool. If the trace has worked correctly, vectors should appear around all the individual parts of the traced image.
Finally, to choose the level of raster engraving you want to use, select all the elements of the traced image and adjust their fill color using the Object > Fill and Stroke window.
topIf you place objects directly beside each other, it's likely you'll end up with cutting lines sitting one on top of the other.
You should be able to see these quite plainly as being a darker blue than your other cutting lines. You need to change these double lines into a single cutting line – or as we call them, a shared cutting line. Otherwise the line will literally be cut twice – which is not the best for your material, or the machine.
Here's the process to remove double lines:
Step 1: Select one of the adjoining objects and use the Path > Object to Path command.
Step 2: Select the 'Edit paths by nodes' tool:
Step 3: Click on an object that contains a double line, then select a node on one side of the double line you want to remove:
Step 4: With the node highlighted dark gray, click the 'Break path at selected nodes' button:
Step 5: Click on the node on the other side of the double line, and use the 'Break path at selected nodes' button again:
Step 6: Click on the line between the two nodes so that both nodes are highlighted dark gray - and a larger size to the rest of the nodes in the object - and press delete. A paler blue line should be left behind:
Step 7: Select the nodes on each side of the next line, and repeat the above process:
Use the File > Save as command and select the format as 'Inkscape SVG':
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You must use our design templates when creating your design.
After downloading, open your chosen template in Illustrator as you would a normal file, ensure File > Document color mode is set to RGB, then create your design.
You can design for CNC routing on two different material sheet sizes:
* note: due to shipping requirements the largest piece of work that can be produced must fit within the following sizes: 23" x 47" or 34" x 34"
topThe color of the line you draw determines what the CNC router will do. For example, if you draw a bird with a blue outline, the router will cut out a bird ...
Here are some things to think about when creating your design.
The router cuts and pockets with a 0.25" (0.247") diameter cutting bit which is centered on the line you draw. This means the total amount of material removed is 0.25" wide with 0.125" of material removed either side of the cutting line.
So, if you want to cut out a 24" x 24" square, you need to draw a square measuring 24.25" x 24.25" to allow for the thickness of the cutting line.
If you want to cut out a 1" wide round hole, you need to draw your circle .75" wide to allow for the thickness of the cutting line. If you want to cut out a square hole which is 2" by 2", draw a square 1.75" x 1.75". The minimum sized hole you can have is 0.300". This is defined by a 0.050" circle in your drawing.
If you want to cut out a slot or create a pocket which is 0.25" wide, you can do this with a single line.
Routers cannot cut square corners like lasers. Because the material is cut with a spinning router bit, internal corners will be rounded (with a radius of 0.125"). See our CNC design tips for ways to get around this.
You cannot use a single cutting line to separate two cut-out parts. There must be 0.5" of material left between each of your cut-out parts to support them during the cutting process and in shipping. This means the outer cutting lines of each of your parts need to be placed 0.75" apart so that there is 0.5" left between them after cutting.
topThe core of your design will be the shapes you want cut.
The easiest way to visualize how this translates to your design is to imagine laying the pieces you want to make on a sheet of paper, then drawing around the edges before taking them away. Your design should look like the lines left on the paper.
To make a cutting line, draw a line or shape.
Then open the Object > Fill and Stroke window and set the 'Stroke style' width to 0.010 mm:
And set the stroke color to blue with the 'Stroke paint' RGBA values of 0, 0, 255, 255:
top
A pocket is a partial cut to a depth defined as a percentage of the material thickness, say, 50%. Pocketing works in a similar way to cutting, but instead of slicing right through the material, the router removes material down to the specified depth.
The router will trace along the pocketing line you draw in your design package. There are three different depths available: 25%, 50% and 75% of the material thickness. The minimum width of a pocket is 0.25", which is the size of the router bit.
Open the Object > Fill and Stroke window and set the 'Stroke style' width to 0.010 mm:
Open the Object > Fill and Stroke window and set the stroke color to magenta with the 'Stroke paint' RGBA values of 255, 0, 255, 255
Open the Object > Fill and Stroke window and set the stroke color to green with the 'Stroke paint' RGBA values of 0, 255, 0, 255
Open the Object > Fill and Stroke window and set the stroke color to red with the 'Stroke paint' RGBA values of 255, 0, 0, 255:
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If you want to remove an area of material, not just a line, you'll need to place multiple lines next to each other. They should be spaced roughly 0.2" apart so that they overlap and remove material smoothly. For more advice on doing this, see CNC Design Tips > Pocketing tips.
topAny text you use in your design file needs to be converted to outlines. This way the router will follow your design correctly, regardless of whether or not it has the font installed.
This is as simple as selecting your text and then choosing Path > Object to Path from the top menu. You won't be able to edit the text once you've done this so do it last, after you've checked the spelling.
The router will move along the center of the line so bear in mind the size of the router bit and what this means for the minimum size of your text.You will need to remove any fill color from the text, and add stroke color for either cutting or pocketing.
For more advice on adding text to a CNC design, see the CNC Design Tips > Text tips.
topToo much detail can cause problems. Features that are too intricate or small may not be able to support themselves during the cutting process. Design for a minimum feature size of 0.25"/6.35mm (which means the lines you draw to describe them need to be 0.5" apart).
We may ask you to change your design if we foresee issues like this. If pieces break off they can damage the router. Plus we want to make sure you get a result you're pleased with.
topUse the File > Save as command and select the format as 'Inkscape SVG':
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