Laser Cutter / Engraver Resources

Here you will find a collection of handy techniques, resources, and info about Laser Cutting

Guides

How to engrave greyscale images

File Generators

Files the generators create on the following sites are all free for personal use as of DATE. Please refer to individual sites for commercial use guidelines. The files they produce may need final tweaking in a vector program to make them laser-ready, eg, applying the correct stroke colour and weight for the laser to recognize cut lines.

What does it generate?	Site Name	Description	Link
Simple boxes	MakerCase	A simple box generator allows you to enter parameters to generate a free downloadable vector file of the box design.	https://www.makercase.com/#/
Simple boxes	Make a Box	A simple box generator allows you to enter parameters to generate a free downloadable vector file of the box design.	https://makeabox.io/
Simple boxes with open sides or sloped edges	Laser Cutter Box	A simple box generator allows you to enter parameters to generate a free downloadable vector file of the box design. Has the option to add partitions, a sloped edge, and/or open sides to your box design	http://jeromeleary.com/laser/
Paper boxes in a wide variety of shapes	Template Maker	Generates files for a wide variety of paper/card boxes in a variety of fun shapes.	https://www.templatemaker.nl/
Complex boxes (many different styles and parameters)	Boxes.py	An open source online box generator which also has an extension for Inkscape (free vector design software). There are simpler and more complex designs.	https://hackaday.io/project/10649-boxespy
Interlocking gears	Involute Spur Gear Builder	Easily generate interlocking gears that will work smoothly when actually used. Many customisable options.	http://hessmer.org/gears/InvoluteSpurGearBuilder.html
Interlocking gears	Gear Designer	A simple to use site to create interlocking gears	http://www.jeromeleary.com/gears/
Interlocking gears	Gear Generator	A gear generator that allows you to animate the interlocking gears to see how they move together.	https://geargenerator.com/
Maze games	Laser-Cut Maze Designer	Enter your parameters and it will generate a square or rectangular maze game you can cut and assemble.	https://adashrod.github.io/LaserCutMazes/welcome
Maze games	Maze Generator	Enter your parameters and it will generate a square, rectangular, hexagonal or triangular maze game you can cut and assemble.	http://www.mazegenerator.net/
Rulers	Vector Ruler Generator	Create simple rulers in a variety of sizes	http://robbbb.github.io/VectorRuler/
Jigsaws	Jigsaw Puzzle	Enter your parameters to create a square, rectangular or hexagonal jigsaw.	https://draradech.github.io/jigsaw/index.html
Living Hinges	Inkscape	An Inkscape extension to generate living hinges (requires Inkscape, free vector design software)	https://inkscape.org/~drphonon/%E2%98%85living-hinge-creator
Elliptical boxes	Github	An Inkscape extension to generate elliptical boxes with living hinge sides (requires Inkscape, free vector design software)	https://github.com/BvdP/elliptical-box-maker
SIngle-line Text Fonts	Imajeenyus	Single line fonts provide a super efficient way to engrave text using a laser cutter on score settings.	http://www.imajeenyus.com/computer/20150110_single_line_fonts/index.shtml/
single-line text inkscape plugin	Hershey Text, Evil Mad Scientist Labs	Single line fonts provide a super efficient way to engrave text using a laser cutter on score settings.	https://www.evilmadscientist.com/2011/hershey-text-an-inkscape-extension-for-engraving-fonts/

Pre-made designs

Pre-made designs for laser cutting, free for personal use. Please refer to individual sites/contributors for commercial use guidelines. Files provided may need final tweaking in a vector program to make them laser-ready, eg, applying the correct stroke colour and weight for the laser to recognize cut lines.

Design Types	Site Name	Description	Link
Various	Trotec DIY Laser Projects	A wide variety of curated designs for laser cutting.	https://www.troteclaser.com/en-au/knowledge/do-it-yourself-samples/
Various	Epilog Laser Sample Club	A wide variety of curated designs for laser cutting.	https://www.epiloglaser.com.au/resources/sample-club.htm
Various	Boss Laser	A small variety of curated designs for laser cutting.	https://www.bosslaser.com/laser-files/downloads/
Various	Glowforge Community Forums - Free Laser Designs Category	A wide variety of user-contributed designs for laser cutting.	https://community.glowforge.com/c/free-laser-designs/11
Various	Thingieverse - contributions tagged 'Lasercut'	A wide variety of user-contributed designs for laser cutting.	https://www.thingiverse.com/tag:lasercut
Various	Maker Design Lab	A small selection of designs for laser cutting.	https://makerdesignlab.com/tag/free-laser-cutter-files/
Papercrafts	Dreaming Tree	A variety of papercraft designs that could be easily adapted to laser cutting	https://3dsvg.com/product-category/free-svg-files/
Various	Free Paterns Area	A small selection of designs for laser cutting and CnC.	https://www.freepatternsarea.com/free-projects/
Various	3axis.co	A wide variety of designs for laser cutting. Please note, this site contains a lot of external advertising and as such, may be difficult to navigate without use of an ad blocker.	https://3axis.co/
Living Hinge Swatches	Obrary	Creative commons licensed living hinge swatches. See link in comments if download link does not work.	https://obrary.com/products/living-hinge-patterns?variant=798259727
Living Hinge Swatches	Instructibles	Creative commons licensed living hinge swatches.	https://www.instructables.com/Curved-laser-bent-wood/