Laser: Animal Figurine

Find an image

View image

Click View Image, then Right-Click to Save As

Image to Vector

Save Image to Desktop. Open Inkscape, go to File> Open, and select the image. Select Embed Image.

Once the image is open, go to Path> Trace Bitmap

Use the settings below to get a single scan of your silhouette. Select Update> OK> X to Close.

Delete the original, keep the silhouette with the paths

Go to Object> Fill and Stroke to change your shape to an outline. For Stroke Paint, select Red.

Size

Check the size of your shape. It should be about 3".

Base

Your shape will fit in a stand of either 3D printed plastic, or laser cut acrylic. Depending on how the bottom of your figurine is shaped, you may want to add a square piece to help it stand.

This can be accomplished by drawing a square shape near the bottom of your figurine, and combining the square with the figurine through Path>Union.

Select the extra nodes so we can delete them.

It might be uneven, so we'll select the remaining nodes, and select Make selected nodes corner to get a straight line.

And just like that, you have a flat base!

Advanced Option

1/8" acrylic is approximately 3mm. Try adding a slot to the base. Once you have made a slot, you can create another square piece that fits across it. This can take time and patience, because the acrylic isn't always exactly 3mm.

Saving

Save your file as an SVG, using your name, for example: Sarah.svg

Survey

Surveys are here: https://sites.google.com/site/cplmakerlab/surveys