Laser Cutter Settings

Notes About Adobe Illustrator and Laser Cutting

Set up an Adobe Illustrator file in the following manner for laser cutting:

• Document Color is best if it is  RGB color:  File menu > Document Color Mode > RGB

• Make the measurement units in     cm:    File menu > Document Setup > cm

• Set size of the work area (Art Board), as either the size of the material cutting on and or the size of laser cutting machine area (60cm x 45cm) :     File menu > Document Setup > Edit Artboard > 60cm x 45cm

• Vectoring is when material is cut all the way through.  Thinner or less-dense materials can have different settings.  Set the Stroke width of a line to be cut all the way through   to .003 pts     See other settings in the videos below

  • • 3mm plywood:         Speed: 20%,      Power: 100%,         Frequency: 100%

    • 3mm acrylic: Speed: 50%,      Power: 100%,         Frequency: 100%

    • 5mm foam board: Speed: 50%,      Power: 100%,         Frequency: 100%

• Rastering is when the material is only burned or etched. Use Fill of objects for this and dark outlines that you do not want cut through. The darker/blacker the Fill color, the darker/deeper the raster.    See other settings in the videos below.           

  • • Speed: 100%,             Power: 50%,        Frequency: 50%

• Save As > an .ai  file type.    Save it as:     your_name-class.ai     file 

• Put it onto the computer connected to the laser cutter you want:

  • • Either put the file on a USB drive and connect to the computer, or drop the file  into the Laser Cutting folder on Google Drive (check your Google Classroom for the link).  

    • Open that file on the computer connected to the laser cutter in Adobe Illustrator then follow the settings in the videos above/below for your specific material cutting settings.