Tips for Preparing Files for
Laser Cutting
If you want to create your design using a program such as
CorelDRAW, Adobe Illustrator, or TurboCAD, here are some tips
for designing your parts:
For small parts, we accept .dxf, .cdr, .ai, .eps, other drawing
files and many other vector drawing file formats. If in doubt,
send your original. most programs let you "save as" or "export"
to this file type).
For parts larger than 300mm x 450mm, please send an original
file or fax, or drawing file that uses only straight lines and
circular arcs (you can approximate any curve using many small,
circular arcs; please contact us if you need help with this).
Give your file a unique name (the part name, your name, but not
"laser_cut_part").
Draw thin black lines where you want the laser to cut; the laser
will cut down the centre of your lines.
Include a 25mm square for a size reference, and include just the
outline of your parts (no dimensional information). TIP:
See
our Ezine on drawing in Contours
Send one file that includes one copy of each set, indicate how
many of each you need, and the material from which it should be
cut. Please make sure to leave enough space around every part so
that we can easily select them by dragging a rectangle around
them. See our Ezine on Minimum Spacing 8mm
We may need to adjust for the kerf (the thickness of the laser
beam), which is about 0.010". For example, if you would like a
hole of diameter 20mm", draw a hole with a diameter of 9.9". If
you would like a circular part with a diameter of 80mm, draw a
circle with a 7.95mm diameter. (These numbers are approximate
and can vary depending on the material and its thickness.)
The largest part we can laser cut is 3600mm x 1200mm, and we can
fit even larger pieces of material by rotation methods developed
by our laser operators.
We can do two types of laser engraving: vector engraving and
raster engraving. Engraving depths can range from barely
scratching the surface to almost going through the material; we
cannot control the depths very precisely, but we will try our
best to achieve what you need.
Vector engraving is for etching lines that are the width of the
laser beam (around 0.09mm); it is just like cutting, but the
laser does not cut all the way through the material. Lines to be
vector engraved should be indicated with different RGB colors
(each color indicating a different engraving depth).
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! Please group all
items of the same color and indicate the approximate
engraving depths that you would like for each color.
Raster engraving is slower and more costly, and is used for
engraving bitmaps (.jpeg or .gif files of logos, photos, etc.),
text, and filled-in areas of your vector drawing file (note that
a filled-in figure you want engraved should not have a thin
outline since the laser will cut along that outline). The laser
blasts away one pixel at a time, similar to the printing process
used by inkjet printers. The depth of the engraving is specified
by the gray-scale color of the pixel (black gets engraved the
deepest, gray is engraved to medium depth, and white is left
un-engraved). Please specify the depth of the black (deepest)
portions of your image and color everything else with the
appropriate grays (50% black will get engraved about half as
deep as the black portion).
In general, artwork files for
laser cutting require indepth knowledge, if suitable, let us set
up files for you at cheaper art design costs.
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We are always happy to work to
designs provided by our clients. But, if you don't have the
resources to produce the designs, we can do it for you.
QuickSmart Laser Cutting Services has a creative art and
design facility to translate your ideas into effective,
eye-catching images.
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1800 815
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