Please take the time to
read all guidelines on this page. It takes only a few
minutes and it can save you a lot of time. If you are not
clear about anything please don't hesitate to
ask us.
Use any vector graphics editor
for your design; simply create a file with the right
dimensions (check the
materials page for sizing). When you are done
with your project save it
as an
uncompressed file in one of the following formats.
Supported formats:
Preferred file format - ps
(post script) or plain pdf
(vector graphic) any editor.
Corel Draw (cdr) - saved for version 14.0 and older Inkscape (svg) - saved as plain svg (not
Inkscape svg) for any version
Adobe Illustrator (ai, eps, pdf) - saved uncompressed
AutoCAD (dxf) - saved uncompressed, please don't save
it as dwg
Please leave at least 2.5mm (0.1") between your design and
the material edge.
Also, leave at least 1mm (0.04") between each individual
piece in your design, because acrylic might re-fuse and wood
might get charred at the point of contact. It is a good
practice to group all parts of a piece, so it can be easily
moved without tedious selection.
Use vector lines under
0.3pt (0.00416in or 0.10566mm) for
line cutting and line etching. In CorelDRAW use hairline. An
easy number to remember is 0.1mm.
stroke < 0.3pt (RGB value
255,0,0) heavy etch (for transparent acrylic). This
weakens the acrylic as it cuts deep into it.
Raster Etch
10%
Black
fill or stroke >
0.3pt (RGB value 230,230,230) light etch.
50% Black
fill or stroke >
0.3pt (RGB value 128,128,128) medium etch.
100%
Black
fill or stroke >
0.3pt (RGB value 0,0,0) heavy etch.
Please use solid colors only
as described above. The colors must be RGB values and not
CMYK. If your design requires special raster (like pictures)
please request a quote.
Acrylic designs that don't
have etching are cut with the mask on both sides, which
results in perfectly shiny surfaces. If the design requires
etching, the top mask is peeled off, and the laser cutting
often deposits a light haze on the surface around each cut.
So, if your design doesn't absolutely have to have
engraving, it is best to leave it out.
Notice that if you have
overlapping lines, they might appear as a single line, but
to the laser they are still multiple lines, and they will be
traced multiple times. Acrylic could re-fuse and wood would
get charred. So, please make sure you don't copy and paste a
design onto itself.
You can make your own custom
palette, which contains only the colors above, or you can
download our palette for Inkscape -
CYW.gpl (right-click, "Save
Link As..." or "Save Target As").
Important - designs with text
If your design includes text make sure to convert it to
curves before submitting it, to ensure the text looks as you
designed it regardless of whether or not we have the font.
The command is:
Ctrl + Q in CorelDRAW
Ctrl + Shift + C in Inkscape
Ctrl + Shift + O in Adobe Illustrator
If you are building a 3-d piece, please make sure the thickness of the
material is suitable. For Birch Plywood use
kerf radius
of 0.01mm (i.e. offset/contour your parts 0.01mm to make
them bigger in order to fit snug).
Remember to have fun! If you
run into design problems, the internet is full of great tutorials and
forums on vector design. If that does not help just
drop us a line.
Please do
not submit other people's work unless you have permission.
We don't take responsibility for copyright
infringement.
You retain the rights to your own work.
We will not use your
work without your permission.
