Best Apps for Laser Cutting and Engraving
Laser cutting is everywhere today. Graphic designs on stainless steel water bottles, patterns etched into glass windows, or wooden cutting boards with a name or initials on it: these are all created by laser. Laser cutting, or laser engraving, is everywhere because it is such a versatile technology that can change ordinary objects used every day into custom works of art. In this article we will take a look at what laser cutting is, and understand more about the software used to perform this crafty technology.
What Is Laser Cutting and Engraving?
Laser cutting is the process of using intense, directed light of a laser to engrave precise designs onto hard surfaces. To do this, a Computer Numerical Controlled machine, or CNC machine, uses a powerful laser beam to cut or engrave designs into materials like glass, metal, wood, or plastic.
There are several types of laser cutting machines, but basically to engrave designs with a laser, a CNC machine shines a laser beam in a two-dimensional direction, moving along the X and Y axes of the machine bed. The movement follows optics and computer instructions called G-code. Using G-code to direct the laser, the CNC machine is able to engrave intricate 2D designs and shapes.
Air Assist in Laser Cutting Machines
Many laser engraving machines today also use air-assist as part of the process. This means that a high-pressure stream of oxygen or other gas is used as the laser works. The air reduces heat around the laser head, so it doesn’t burn the material. It also blows debris out of the way.
How Does a Laser Machine Produce Designs?
So how do you get a laser machine to engrave your drawing or design? This requires digitizing and transforming your designs into computer code that the machine understands. There are different software tools that do this, and choosing the right software to use for your laser cutting projects depends on the specific type of project you have.
Whether you need high precision engraving, or whatever you need a simple basic figure cut into materials, there is a software program that can bring your laser cutting project to life.
Best Laser-Cutting and Engraving Software
There are some free programs that will work if you need to engrave simple drawings, but to laser cut any intricate or complex designs or patterns, only premium software will work. If you plan to become a laser cutting pro, or if you want to offer custom-engraved items for sale, a more sophisticated tool that supports different file types and offers a high level of control would be the best option.
We’ve rounded up the best apps for laser cutting and engraving on our list, so read on to discover which of these is right for your needs.
Amadine is a vector graphics program that works with Mac, iPad and iPhone. Amadine is a user-friendly program offering over 30 tools to draw, select, type and edit shapes. It offers loads of text tools, templates and an ability to create a library of custom shapes so users can save their designs.
Although Amadine doesn’t have the capability to control laser cutting machines, users can export the design to a compatible format, like SVG, then use the laser cutting software to engrave designs.
With its user-friendly interface and budget-friendly price, Amadine is a solid choice for beginners and experts alike to try out laser cutting projects.
If you work in graphic design or digital art, you’re already familiar with Adobe Illustrator. As one of the most widely used graphics software apps, Adobe Illustrator has extensive features that help users create high quality vector graphics and illustrations.
Adobe Illustrator is highly versatile and a solid solution for any vector-based work. Users can manipulate shapes, trace images and apply all types of styling to designs. Artists particularly like the Artboards features, which lets users organize projects and keep multiple designs within one document.
The compatible plugins allow Adobe Illustrator to convert any design to G-code, making it an excellent choice for working with laser cutting machines.
The only downside is the price: at US$59.99 per month, the tool may be most suited for those who are ready to make more of an investment. It’s also not the most beginner friendly option on the list. But if you’re already familiar with and use Adobe products, this is an excellent app to use for laser cutting purposes.
Affinity Designer is another top choice to create graphics and designs that you’d like to engrave with a laser. Although it doesn’t communicate with laser cutting machines directly, it works with most common vector file formats like SVG, EPS as well as raster and AI files. Designers like that it is less expensive than Adobe Illustrator and it is easy to undo changes while working.
Inkscape is a free, open source editor that can create files for laser cutting machines without direct control over them. It is beginner friendly, and uses 82 mb of storage, so it is more lightweight than many other programs.
Inkscape also requires third-party plugins to work with a laser cutting machine, but for beginners or those who just want to try out creating designs, this is a great option.
Draftsight is another software that works well for laser cutting, particularly due to its ability to refine images. This means, the files created in this tool translate to very precise lines for the laser cutting machine. This tool is a good option for more advanced designers or users who have intricate designs to engrave.
Draftsight can also support many types of files, like DXF, DWG and DGN.
LightBurn is a laser cutting app with plenty of features to please novice and experienced users. It has editing capabilities for vector shapes, image tracing and blank canvas creation; it can also communicate with the laser cutting machine. This means you may not need a pricier full feature design package to operate your machine.
Lightburn also supports a variety of file types, so it’s compatible with both vector and raster files. There are easy to follow video tutorials so even if you’ve never operated a laser cutting machine, it’s easy to get up to speed quickly.
This app is compatible with Windows, MacOS and Linux, and offers one year of free updates once purchased.
LaserGRBL is the simplest app for laser cutting on our list. The software covers the basic need to get a file ready for laser cutting software: vector editing. And it’s completely free to download. The only drawback is that it is compatible with Windows only.
For Windows users who have never tried laser engraving, this software is definitely worth experimenting with.
TurboCAD is software that is well-suited for advanced 2D and 3D design work. It supports a wide range of file types, like SVG, DWG, and DXF.
For users who are experienced creating 3D models, TurboCAD is an excellent fit to create designs for laser cutting. Do not get troubled by software not connecting to your laser cutting machine, as this one provides professional quality DXF files suitable for use with laser cutting.
LaserWeb is a software tool that will work well for those who already have an understanding of G-Code commands. It runs on Windows, Linux, Mac or even Raspberry Pi. LaserWeb is best for projects where the user needs to edit and control the actual code that controls the laser cutting machine, after already importing raster or vector files.
This software is free and offers collaboration features, so teams can work simultaneously on projects. It supports DXF, SVG and BMP files.
These programs are both designed for digital fabrication. The CAM program creates the G-code commands that direct the laser cutting machine, and supports DXF and SVG files. The Control program has features to connect to the machine. And both of these are easy to download straight from the OpenBuilds website.
These programs are not as beginner friendly as some of the other options, but for users who have worked in fabrication, this is an excellent, free option.
Conclusion
With our complete list of 10 different software tools for laser cutting machines, you have a great starting point to try out projects for your laser cut designs! With beginner-friendly options, like Amadine and Inkscape to more advanced options like Adobe Illustrator and TurboCAD, as well as free options like LaserGRBL and LaserWeb, there is something for everyone who wants to try out this fun, unique way of creating interesting works of art or gifts.