Laser Cut Keychain
Workflow
To see the process of making this keychain, watch my YouTube video here: https://youtu.be/cgzMLj3_txk
Design
Obtain picture
Obtain picture of desired design online
Right-click on the picture and go Save Image
Save it under a name you’ll remember
Inkscape setup
Go File> Document Properties
Change everything (Display units, size of page, etc) to inches
Make the size of the page 2 x 2 inches (this is the size of the keychain)
At the top of the popup, click the tab labeled “Grid”
Under Creation, click New to make a new grid
Change the grid units to inches
Make both the spacing X and Y .25
Make a major grid line every 4 (so that there’s a major grid line every inch on the grid)
Close the document properties popup
Inkscape tracing
In the top bar, go File>Import
Search for your file and Open it
Scale its size by dragging the corner or entering its dimensions in the top bar
Right-click on the image and go Trace Bitmap
A popup will come up, change the settings to clarify your image
Brightness cutoff worked the best for me, change the threshold to sharpen your image
Make sure to keep pressing “Update” to see how your setting changes have changed the image
When satisfied, press “OK”
Your new image will be on top of the old image, so click on your image and drag away (the new, clearer image should come away with your mouse)
Delete the old image
Laser cutter
Preparing the file
Find your design on Google Drive
Drag and drop it into Corel Draw
Set the page size to 20 x 16 inches
Select the design, right click, and press Ungroup
If some objects are still stuck together, select these objects, right click, and choose Unlock. You should be able to edit the objects and move them around independently.
Select all the objects in the drawing and go to the top bar
In the center of the bar, there will be a pulldown bar that controls the thickness of the border. Click on the pulldown bar and choose Hairline.
Check: If you click out of the design and the thickness keeps changing and not staying as hairline, your objects may still be locked/grouped. The design must be unlocked and ungrouped for the laser cutter to read and print it.
Move the design to the desired location on the page
Printing Settings
Go Control+P to print
Make sure your design appears on the print preview
If it is not there, change the page settings to landscape (it may be on portrait)
Click Preferences, next to the printer selection
Make sure that the piece size is set to 2 x 2 inches (the size of the keychain)
Choose Center-Engraving
Choose Auto Focus and Vector Grid with a thickness of .13 inches
The job type should be Raster, and set the raster settings at:
Speed: 100%
Power: 50%
Frequency: 50
for the cardboard runthrough
Press OK
Press Apply on the original printing page, then Print to send the design to the laser cutter
Printing on cardboard
Place cardboard in the laser cutter’s tray
Use the up and down arrows on the right side of the control panel to go to Jog
Use the stick to move the cutter’s initial position around. Use the red light to orient yourself. The design will center around that red dot
Press down on the stick to set that as the starting point. The screen should say “Setting…” with a loading bar below that
Once again use the up and down arrows and return it to Job when satisfied with the location
Press Go to start the printing process
If/Once the design looks like it is the right size, stop the printing
Reset it to the starting place to set up for the leather printing
Printing on leather: Settings
Go back to the printer and go Control+P
Click Preferences
Set the same preferences as the last printing, except:
Offset: .13
Speed: Around 50%
Power: Around 100%, depending on how dark you want your design to be
Frequency: 50
Press OK
On the original printing page, press Apply and then Print
Printing on leather
Place the leather keychain on top of the cardboard (This is why the offset was .13)
Center the keychain to the red dot
Press Go on the control panel
When finished, examine the keychain but keep it in its position. If you want a darker design, you may reprint
When satisfied, remove the keychain from under the laser and reset the cutter
Cleaning
Use Q-tips and/or leather cleaner to improve the appearance of the keychain
Use the hardware given and a hammer to affix the ring to the piece of leather
