Students need to use computer software specifically installed on school laptops to use the Laser Cutter. 

The Laser must be done with teacher supervision and input. We use Lightburn Software to operate the Laser and we have ten floating licenses for student use, please speak to Mme Morgan or Mme Polowin to set you up. Students are encouraged to tinker and play with the software, in addition to watching these tutorials prior to designing work: 

• https://lightburnsoftware.com/pages/tutorials

In order to cut/etch/burn with the Laser Cutter, we need to work from a "vector" drawing. Vector drawing are different from digital photos in that they contain "paths" that the laser will follow and burn along.

To get started then, we need to learn how to make a vector drawing. To do this, the software we recommend is gravit Designer (https://designer.gravit.io/ ). Gravit is web-based and free, so you can design on any computer or at home.

Vector Drawing Tutorials:

• https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqsk_4aqUvEYxmy5NpQakcZXa6_3w-I8F 

Once your design is done, we will take the finished vector design, export it in a common format (.SVG) and load that to the laser cutter's special software ("Lightburn"). Inside Lightburn, we will take each path from your design and tell the laser what speed and power settings to use for each part. The results can be amazing! Lightburn is an expensive piece of software, so is only available on a few computers at school. See Mrs. Morgan with your finished vector drawing from gravit when you think you are getting close to being ready to burn a design.

Lightburn Tutorials:

• https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwL4iB6JZSDxdnUKPOY-Qpv1DnUoLxHue