Three kinds of operation
Almost every laser — whatever the brand — does three things:
| Operation | What the laser does | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Cut | Follows a vector path with enough energy to go right through | Shapes, box panels, jewellery blanks |
| Score (or line engrave) | Follows a vector path lightly, marking the surface | Fold lines, outlines, fine line art |
| Engrave (raster) | Scans back and forth, filling an area line by line | Text fills, photos, shaded artwork |
Your software assigns an operation to each part of the design — usually by colour or layer — and each operation has its own power, speed and passes.
Vector or raster?
- Vector artwork (SVG, DXF, PDF, AI) is made of paths. Lasers can cut, score or fill-engrave it. Keep paths closed and remove duplicates — overlapping lines get cut twice and burn more.
- Raster images (PNG, JPG) are made of pixels and can only be engraved. Use a high enough resolution for the size you engrave; photos usually need dithering.
Set up your file
- Work at real size in millimetres. Check your design software exports at 1:1.
- Convert text to paths (outlines) so it doesn’t change if the font is missing on another computer.
- Use colours or layers for operations — for example, red for cut, blue for score, black for engrave.
- Order matters: engrave and score first, cut last, so parts don’t move or drop before the marking is finished.
- Inside before outside: cut holes and inner shapes before the outer outline.
Allow for kerf
The beam removes a thin strip of material — the kerf. For decorative work you can ignore it. For anything that must fit together — slots, tabs, inlays, finger joints — measure it on a test cut and offset your paths by half the kerf, or use your software’s kerf-offset setting.
Nest to save material
Arrange parts close together, share common edges where you can, and leave a small margin from the sheet edge. Some software nests automatically.
Before you press start
- Is the material one you’ve identified as laser-safe? Check our materials guide.
- Is the machine focused for this thickness?
- Is extraction running, and are you staying with the job? See our safety guide.