LaserCanvas
Your first project, start to finish
Make something small, flat and forgiving — a coaster or a keyring in 3 mm plywood. Draw it at real size, cut a test grid on the corner of the sheet to find the settings, preview the toolpath, then cut. The test grid is the step people skip and the one that saves the sheet.
Pick something forgiving
A first project should fail cheaply if it fails. That means small, flat, no joints and no fit requirements — a coaster, a keyring, a luggage tag, a simple sign. Leave the box until the third or fourth project, because a box needs every joint to be right at once.
- 3 mm plywood — forgiving, cheap, and the material most settings advice assumes.
- Small — under 100 mm square. A short job means you can watch the whole thing.
- One operation to start. Cut only, then add engraving once cutting is predictable.
Draw it at real size
Work in millimetres from the start. A 60 mm coaster should be 60 mm on the canvas, not "about right" — every later step depends on the drawing meaning what it says.
- Set the work area to match your machine’s bed.
- Draw the outline. A rounded rectangle or a circle is fine.
- Add text if you want it, and let the software outline it — a laser cuts outlines, not fonts.
- Put the cut on one layer and any engraving on another.
Find the settings before you commit the sheet
This is the step that separates a good first attempt from a wasted afternoon. Do not look up settings and hope; cut a test grid on a corner of the actual sheet.
- Generate a grid of small squares: power along one axis, speed along the other.
- Cut it on a corner of the material you are about to use.
- Find the square that just cuts through cleanly, then back off slightly from the extreme.
- Write the numbers down with the material and thickness.
It takes a few minutes and it answers a question no chart can, because it uses your machine, your lens, your focus and this sheet.
Set up the machine
- Material flat and held down. A bow lifts part of the cut out of focus.
- Focus set from the top of the material, for this thickness.
- Air assist on if you have it.
- Extraction running, ducted outside.
- Bed clean — offcuts under the work are a fire risk.
- Home the machine, then set the origin where you want the job to start.
Check before you press go
- Preview the toolpath. It shows the actual path the head will take. Anything in the wrong place shows up here rather than in the material.
- Frame the job if your machine can — it traces the bounding box with the laser off, so you can see where it will cut.
- Check the operation order: engrave, then score, then cut. Cutting first releases the part and everything after it lands wrong.
- Confirm the layer settings are the ones from your test grid.
Cut it
Watch the first pass. You are looking for a steady cut with a small flame that follows the head and goes out behind it. A flame that travels along the kerf or persists after the head has moved on means stop.
When it finishes, leave it a moment before opening — let the extraction clear the enclosure. Then check: did it cut through everywhere, or is the part still attached in places?
What to do with the result
| Result | Next time |
|---|---|
| Cut through cleanly | Note the settings and reuse them for this material |
| Attached in a few places | Add a pass; check the sheet was flat |
| Edges very dark | Raise speed, add air assist, mask the surface |
| Cut through but burnt underneath | Raise the work on pins so the beam is not reflecting off the bed |
| Part is slightly undersized | Normal — that is kerf. Compensate when parts must fit together |
Then do it again with engraving added, and again with two parts that have to fit. Each step adds one variable, which is what makes problems diagnosable.
Common questions
What should I make as a first laser project?
Something small, flat and with no joints — a coaster, keyring or luggage tag in 3 mm plywood. It cuts quickly enough to watch from start to finish, it fails cheaply, and nothing about it has to fit anything else. Save boxes for later, because a box needs every joint right at once.
How do I know what power and speed to use?
Cut a test grid on a corner of the actual sheet: power along one axis, speed along the other, then pick the square that just cuts through cleanly. Published settings are a starting range at best, because the result depends on your optical power, lens, focus, air assist and the particular sheet.
Why did my first cut not go all the way through?
Most likely focus, or the material not being flat. Focus is set from the top of the material and changes with thickness, and a bowed sheet lifts part of the cut out of focus. Both are more common first-time causes than the power being wrong.
Do I need to watch the whole job?
Yes, especially early on. A laser cuts by burning, so small flames are normal, but the gap between a routine flare and a fire is tens of seconds. Keeping short first jobs makes that easy, which is another reason to start small.