Patterns for Laser cutting

10.25 inches by 17.5" is what I can process on mine at once right now. It will fit a 12" by 20" sheet though.

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ok thanks, thats great. 12 by 20 inches. I t will be better to cut big size sheets to this dimensions.

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Correct. Although we can’t use the full bed size to engrave/cut (we get margins of unusable/wasted material) that’s on deck to be fixed so we can do 20x11.5" which will cut how much wasted material we’ll have out of full sheets.

Right now we have to do a bit more shuffling of material to get to use it all up but that’s no big deal.

As @cynzu said THINGIVERSE.COM !! I too find myself falling down the rabbit hole… while I too love the other sites for vectors it is a site dedicated to user uploaded 3d printing projects AND laser/CNC cut full projects with directions which will help advance your knowledge in the why and how much more than the vectors will. :slight_smile:

I have a collection of things I am planning to try or have tried. :slight_smile: I apologize for those who also fall down the rabbit hole with us. lol http://www.thingiverse.com/whiterabbit79/collections/laser/

M

PS oh and they are all free…but with that comes the fact they aren’t normally clean and polished and perfected and you may have to mess with it a bit… which is where the learning happens :slight_smile:

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Very good set of bookmarks. Thanks. I am interested in this one:

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I haven’t made that one yet, but I made the one that shows you what your grayscale depth on each material and setting is… super helpful in learning your machine and media…

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The greyscale and depth engraving is good. I need to be a bit more organized. Had to retest plywood to see how what settings to get exactly 1/2 way through Proofgrade plywoods. On mine it’s 3 passes at 50% power and 335 speed at 340. That’s a good balance without burning and taking away each layer.

And here are some dingbat examples (or as the font calls them “wingdings”

And here are some of those changed into vectors to cut or convert to fill and and engrave.

And finally if you are up to the task of converting found design into vectors, this book not only gives you finished patterns and designs, but has a great introduction for making them from scratch using geometry.

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Thanks. That’s wonderful.

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Just bookmarked these two rabbit holes!

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I just want that original as a print for my wall :wink:

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OOOOH have you downloaded this?! I just happened on it by accident tonight. It’s a ton of free packaging die lines in a single 114 pg PDF and they are fancy schmancy ones I have never seen and can be made rather sturdy! There is a version 2 with more you can see on the same page as well. They could be color coded to do on a laser or cut on a SIlhouette once vectorized… make all the things

The second one has even more impressive ones… I mean who doesn’t want to make Tetris inspired boxes you can package your things and play with at the same time. haha https://issuu.com/designpackaging/docs/packaging-dielines-free-book-design_7fb37ab8a1c323

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Thats amazing. Good share. So many things laser cutter can do. Better than 3D printer

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great find! - dowloaded it :+1: thanks! :relaxed:

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For sure! I have a 3d printer at my disposal and have YET to use it even though I should learn it… I just think of how I can do it with the laser… it’s so much faster. lol

Totally depends on what you are making. I print multiple Kg/month (sometimes per week) and also am going through a ton of materials with the laser. It’s like arguing that a screwdriver is better than a wrench. Sure they both turn fasteners, but good luck changing your tires with a screwdriver, or opening your laptop with a wrench (well more than once :grin:)

There are many things you can 3D print that would either be absurd to make or impossible with a laser, and the materials are different, while there are many things that are impossible/easier/faster on a laser cutter. If you only work in 2.5D then yes a laser is a great tool. but if you transition to full 3D it’s an even mix.

For instance the holster project I showed a few days back is a perfect example. I am making a very crude/quick prototype on the laser since I can get answers in minutes, but the final version needs to be watertight/and 3D filleted (and autoclavable so that means Nylon), so that would be crazy with a laser for final prototypes once the basic shape is done.

I will say the learning curve on 3D printers is steeper, and you constantly are battling a more complex of issues, but they are equally useful devices depending on circumstances.

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Very well said…

Surely laser cutting machine is quick and stuffs made out of it can go straight into selling. 3D printed parts has after process as well but no one can beat it for 3D form.
Laser cutter is so useful.

Yes agreed.

There are plenty of parts I print that have no post-processing and go directly into use. Depends on what it is.

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