Laser: Typographic Key Chain

In this workshop you will be introduced to Inkscape's Text and Selection Tools, the Circle Tool, and how to prepare the file for the Full Spectrum Hobby Laser.

In the photo below, the letters form the keychain.

Open Inkscape

Shortcut: Windows > Type "inkscape"

Or look for the icon below:

On the left is the Toolbar. Today we're using the Selection Tool and the Text Tool.

Setting up our workspace

The measurement default in Inkscape is set to pixels. Pixels are very useful for web designers, but because we are printing a physical object, let's change the default to inches.

File > Document Properties

Change to Inches

The text of the keychain

Click on the Text Tool. Click in the workspace and begin typing a name or word. You may use all caps, lowercase, or change the font face.

Turn off fill

Now we're going to change the text from solid to empty. This will help us align our letters later.

Object > Fill and Stroke

A menu opens on the right. We're going to change the settings for all three options: Fill, Stroke paint, and Stroke style.

For Fill, select the first option, No paint:

For Stroke paint, select the second option and we're going to change to red:

For Stroke style, type in 0.003:

Rearranging the letters

First, we need to change the type into vector paths, a kind of line, which the laser cutter will interpret as "cut lines." Note: If you want to change your font, now is the time to do it. Once we "Object to path," the letters are no longer a font-face.

Path > Object to path

To shift our letters individually, we have to ungroup them.

Object > Ungroup

You will notice each letter has a dashed line around it. Hit the Escape key to clear the selections, or click outside of the text area.

Now we're going to shift and tilt the letters. We want them to overlap in places so that all the letters are touching. To move a letter, select it and drag it. To skew, or tilt the letter, click twice on it so the arrows appear to round the corners.

This letter is moveable. We can drag it left, right, up or down. We can also resize it by selecting and dragging one of the handles.

This letter is tiltable, or skewable. The arrow becomes a handle, and when we clck and drag it, we can turn the letter 360 degrees, or full circle:

Sometimes when you're working quickly, the selection turns into paths. When this happens, hit F1 at the top of the keyboard, or click the Selection Tool, the one that looks like an arrow:

You can tilt the letters as much as you like, or keep it relatively simple:

Finalizing our design

When the design suits you, we will now connect them into one piece. Use the shortcut CTRL + A to select all of your letters, or use the mouse to draw a square around the letters, or go to Edit > Select All.

With our letters all selected, go to Path > Union

The intersecting lines will disappear and should now look something like this:

You will only have one design, but here we have two different designs next to each other to show the great variation you have control over:

Sizing

Remember, we're making a keychain. A great keychain size is between 1 and 3 inches on the longest side. To adjust the size of your keychain, click the arrow, or Selection Tool, and verify the length in inches. Click the lock to maintain the proportions you worked so hard on, then you can adjust the inches as needed.

Keyring Hole?

In the above example, you don't necessarily need a keyring hole. A keyring will fit through the O, A, and G. However, you may want to add a keyring hole if none of your letters have an enclosed loop. Here is how you add a keyring hole:

Click on the Circle Tool and draw a circle. Click the Selection Tool. Tool Controls will appear under the Menu Bar. In the Tool Controls, change both width and height to .180. Once your circle is plain like the one below, find a nice place to overlap it onto the text of your keychain.

If the circle has a fill, go to Object > Fill and Stroke and in the menu which appears on the right, select Fill > No paint, Stroke > (second option) Flat color (leave black), and set Stroke style to 0.003 inches. (See above for images of this process.)

Group your typographic keychain and the .180" hole. Voila! You have added a keyring loop to your keychain!

Saving

Use your name or the keychain text to save your file so you'll recognize it at the laser cutter, for example:

File > Save as > chicago.svg

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