LaserCanvas
Learn laser cutting
Plain answers to the questions that actually come up at the machine — what you can cut, why it scorched, and what that alarm code means. No fluff, and every setting says where it came from.
Basics
How laser cutting actually works.
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CO2, diode, fibre and galvo: which laser does what
The four laser types hobbyists meet, what each one can and cannot cut, and why wavelength — not wattage — decides whether a material works at all.
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How laser cutting actually works
What happens where the beam meets the material: focus, kerf, the difference between cutting and burning, and why the same settings behave differently on every sheet.
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Cutting, engraving and scoring: the three operations
The three things a laser does to a sheet, how each is set up, and why putting them on separate layers in the right order decides whether the job works.
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Your first project, start to finish
One continuous walkthrough from a blank canvas to a finished part: what to make first, how to find settings, and the checks that stop a wasted sheet.
Materials
What you can cut, what you cannot, and how each behaves.
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Dialling in a new material: the test grid method
A repeatable way to find cut and engrave settings for any new sheet: build a power and speed grid, read it properly, and write down what worked.
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Common laser cutting materials and how each behaves
Plywood, MDF, acrylic, leather, card, felt, slate and anodised metal — what each one is actually like to cut or engrave, and where each one catches you out.
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Plywood and MDF: choosing and cutting sheet wood
Why laser plywood cuts cleanly and construction ply does not, how MDF differs, and what to do about glue lines, voids and the smell.
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Acrylic: cast vs extruded, and why clear beats diodes
Why cast acrylic engraves white and extruded does not, how to get a polished flame edge, and why a diode laser cannot cut clear acrylic at any power.
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Marking metal without a fibre laser
Anodised aluminium, powder coat and marking sprays let a CO2 or diode mark metal it cannot cut. What each method does, and what it will not do.
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Leather, cork, fabric and paper
The soft materials: which leather is safe, why synthetic fabric seals its own edge, and how to stop paper catching fire on a machine set up for wood.
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Glass, slate and stone: marking what you cannot cut
None of these can be cut, and engraving them is controlled fracturing rather than burning. How to get a smooth frost instead of a chipped mess.
Settings
Power, speed, passes, focus and air assist.
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How to stop scorch marks and smoke staining
Scorch marks come from smoke, not from the beam. Air assist, masking, honeycomb support and faster passes each fix a different cause — here is which is yours.
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Focus: the setting that fixes most cutting problems
How to set focus, why a warped sheet ruins a cut that worked yesterday, and where to focus in thick material to keep the edge square.
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Air assist and extraction: what each one does
Air assist improves the cut; extraction protects you. Why they are different systems, what pressure to run, and why a recirculating filter is not extraction.
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Power, speed and passes, and how they trade off
Why the same cut can be made three different ways, when to add passes instead of power, and why there is never one correct setting for a material.
File prep
Getting artwork out of your design tool and into the machine.
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Preparing an SVG that actually cuts
Why an SVG that looks right on screen cuts wrong: strokes versus fills, units and viewBox, text that is not outlined, and duplicate lines that cut twice.
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Kerf and tolerance: making parts fit
How to measure your kerf, when to compensate for it and when not to bother, and how to size finger joints and slots so they fit without sanding.
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Vector and raster: why a JPEG cannot be cut
The difference that decides whether a file can be cut at all, why tracing a photo gives wobbly lines, and which format to ask for when someone sends you a logo.
Machine
GRBL, connection, homing and alarm codes.
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GRBL alarm and error codes explained
What every GRBL alarm and the common error codes actually mean, why alarms and errors are different things, and what to do about each one at the machine.
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Connecting a laser: USB, WiFi and what firmware you have
How to tell which firmware your controller runs, why the browser can talk to it directly, and what to check when a connection drops mid-job.
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Why your laser got worse: cleaning and maintenance
A cut that worked last month and fails today is usually a dirty lens, not a dying tube. What to clean, how often, and what to check before blaming power.
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Troubleshooting a laser, by symptom
Not cutting through, wrong size, offset engraving, scorched edges, will not connect. What each symptom usually means and what to check first.
Safety
Fumes, eyewear and fire. The parts that actually hurt you.
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Materials you must never laser cut
PVC, polycarbonate, ABS and vinyl should never go in a laser cutter. Here is what each one does, why it matters, and how to identify unlabelled plastic.
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Laser safety: eyes, fire and fumes
The three things that actually hurt you, and what to do about each: eye protection rated for your wavelength, fire you have to watch for, and fumes you cannot smell.
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Fire: the risk people underestimate
A laser cutter works by burning things. What turns a normal flare into a fire, why the honeycomb bed matters, and what to keep within reach.
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Laser classes 1 to 4, and which one you own
What Class 1, 2, 3R, 3B and 4 mean, why every laser cutter holds a Class 4 source, and how an enclosure changes the class of the product but not the beam.
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Enclosing an open-frame laser
If you own an open-frame machine, an enclosure is the one upgrade that matters. What it has to do, what the window must be made of, and what not to bother with.
Techniques
Boxes, joints, nesting and cutting bigger than your bed.
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Designing a finger-jointed box that closes
Sizing tabs, deciding between inside and outside dimensions, handling the lid, and the three mistakes that stop a laser-cut box from closing squarely.
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Engraving photographs on wood
Why a photo engraves as mud without preparation: dithering, contrast, choosing a pale even-grained wood, and matching line interval to the material.
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Nesting parts to waste less sheet
How to pack parts onto a sheet, why shared cut lines are usually a bad idea, and how grain direction limits what you are allowed to rotate.
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Living hinges: making plywood bend
How a pattern of cuts turns a rigid sheet into something that bends, which patterns survive use, and why most living hinges break at the ends.