How to prepare files for laser cutting

Before you start, decide which material you will use, or at least its thickness: the final shape depends on it, especially when several parts slot into each other.

Draw a rectangle with the sheet size in millimetres, at 1:1 scale, on the MATERIAL layer and place your parts inside, leaving a 10 mm margin with no parts around the edge. We need those 10 mm to hold the sheet during cutting.

One file can contain as many sheets of the same material as you need; the quoter detects each one. If your parts are small, several smaller sheets are better than one large sheet: they lower shipping costs.

Compatible formats: DXF, SVG, EPS, AI, DWG and PDF. Whenever you can, use DXF: it is the most universal and compatible format.

Laser cutting only works with vector design software. Raster images (JPG, PNG…) are not accepted, nor embedded inside vector files: they must be vectorised first. For AI, SVG and PDF files, check the dimensions the quoter detects; the scale can change with the file or program version.

Place each line on its layer/colour depending on whether it is cut, line-engraved or area-engraved. Download our DXF template and use Match Properties (AutoCAD: MATCHPROP / IP) or the Eyedropper (Illustrator) with the template circles. Do not add extra layers or change layer names or colours.

Besides cutting and line engraving, the laser can engrave a whole closed area like a printer would, removing material and creating a counter-relief. The area must be drawn as CLOSED POLYLINES OR CURVES.

We always use the same power and speed for each material and change the line spacing: more lines give more depth and detail, but take longer. The laser spot is about 0.25 mm, so with spacings of 0.2 mm or less the passes overlap by at least 0.05 mm and the eye sees an even engraving.

Area engravings must be closed polylines (areas) that can be added to or subtracted from each other. In Illustrator, combine shapes with Pathfinder so they add or subtract as you want; otherwise overlapping shapes are subtracted by default.

Always send the final file as strokes (lines): no shading or fills. To engrave a thick stroke, give it the stroke width and outline it (Object › Path › Outline Stroke). In AutoCAD, draw the inner and outer lines.

Text must be converted to closed polylines before engraving. In Illustrator: Type › Create Outlines. In AutoCAD: Explode Text (TXTEXP, requires Express Tools).

Fill mode helps you preview the result, but the software cannot read fills: the text must be outlined on the area-engraving layer.

All files must be at 1:1 scale and in millimetres, inside the rectangle that represents the sheet. A 0.6 × 0.8 m sheet is drawn as 600 × 800 mm with the document set in mm.

The quoter shows the sheets it detects and their size. If a size is wrong you can type the real length of one rectangle and the whole file rescales proportionally (not sheet by sheet). If in doubt, fix the file in your software and upload it again.

Delete everything outside the rectangles. Blocks, dimensions, dotted lines, hatches and non-outlined text are not recognised. Notes go on the Comments layer.

Check there are no overlapping or duplicated lines: you may not see them, but the laser would pass twice and the price would go up. In AutoCAD, OVERKILL removes duplicates.

End points must meet the next line exactly: neither overshoot nor fall short. Exception: very small parts (from 7 × 7 mm or 7 mm diameter) can be left open by 0.3–0.5 mm so they stay attached to the sheet and don't fall through the bed.

We have more than 10 laser machines for metal and non-metal materials. The quoter selects the most suitable one automatically and limits each material to its available sizes and thicknesses.

Kerf (tolerance): +0.15 mm in metals and +0.1–0.35 mm in non-metals. Largest sheet: 3 × 1.5 m, although the limit is usually the sheet size of the material. Thickness: from 0.05 mm up to 10 mm in metals and 30 mm in non-metals.

Every process has limits. Keep to them and the result will be excellent; if you want to push them we will try, but cannot guarantee it. Designs with many cuts close together can lose quality: if in doubt, contact us.

The thicker the material, the wider the kerf: about 0.1 mm in thin materials up to 0.5 mm in thick ones. For press-fit parts without glue or welding, prototype before a series.

All values are approximate and not binding: each material behaves differently under the laser beam.