Measure your kerf once
Cut the Kerf Test Generator pattern, measure the gap with callipers, and note the kerf per material. It is typically 0.1 to 0.2 mm on acrylic, 0.2 to 0.3 mm on MDF and plywood.
Laser cutting · 15 tools
Laser cutting files for acrylic, MDF and wood
Kerf compensation, kerf tests, cut and engrave separation, path ordering, tabs and bridges, cut length and time estimates, and sheet layouts.
A laser file has to say more than where the outline is. It has to separate cutting from engraving, order the cuts so inner holes are done before the part is freed, hold small parts so they do not fall through the bed, and be corrected for the sliver of material the beam removes. Get the order wrong and the part shifts before its outline finishes; skip the kerf and every joint is loose.
The tools here do that preparation in the browser and export DXF and SVG with layers named the way LightBurn, RDWorks and LaserGRBL expect. The material-specific file makers apply sensible defaults for acrylic, MDF and wood, the kerf test generator measures your own machine, and the calculators estimate cut length and time so you can quote before you cut.
Try it here
Laser Cutting File Maker
Welded, kerf-compensated, layered output for any laser.
How a laser cutting job runs
Prepare the file
Laser, Acrylic, MDF and Wood Cutting File Makers weld the design, apply kerf compensation, and separate cut lines from engrave fills. Cut / Engrave Layer Separator does the same for a file you already have.
Order and hold
Laser Path Order Optimizer cuts inner contours first and sequences parts to minimise travel. Tabs Generator and Holding Bridge Generator leave 0.5 to 1 mm ties so small parts stay in the sheet.
Lay out and estimate
Laser Material Layout and Laser Sheet Nesting fit parts on the bed. Laser Cut Length Calculator and Estimated Laser Time Calculator give the numbers for the quote.
All laser cutting tools
15 tools · Kerf, tabs, layers and cut-length checks for acrylic, MDF and wood.Laser Cutting File MakerWelded, kerf-compensated, layered output for any laser.Acrylic Cutting File MakerAcrylic-tuned kerf and layer settings.MDF Cutting File MakerMDF kerf and engrave layers.Wood Cutting File MakerPlywood and hardwood kerf settings.Kerf CompensationGrow outer parts and shrink holes by half the kerf.Kerf Test GeneratorA test strip to measure your machine's real kerf.Cut / Engrave Layer SeparatorSplit cut and engrave into colour-coded layers.Cut Line OptimizerWeld and reorder to shorten total travel.Laser Path Order OptimizerInside-first, nearest-next cut ordering.Tabs GeneratorHolding tabs so parts stay in the sheet.Holding Bridge GeneratorMicro-bridges on outer cuts.Laser Material LayoutArrange parts on a sheet with spacing.Laser Sheet NestingNest parts across sheets and see the utilisation.Laser Cut Length CalculatorTotal cut length of a file in metres.Estimated Laser Time CalculatorTime from cut length, speed and pierces.
On the machine
Kerf by material
Cast acrylic 3 mm: about 0.15 mm. MDF 3 mm: 0.2 mm; 6 mm: 0.3 mm because the beam widens through the thickness. Plywood varies by glue and grain. Always measure; the compensation is applied as half the kerf on each side.
Cut order
Holes and inner details first, outer outline last, so the part is supported while its interior is cut. Cut Line Optimizer removes duplicate segments where parts share an edge so shared lines cut once.
Minimum features
Anything narrower than the material thickness tends to burn away or warp: 3 mm strokes on 3 mm acrylic, 5 mm on 6 mm MDF. Engraved details can be far finer; that is why cut and engrave are separated.
Layer colours
Cut lines export as red hairlines, engrave fills as black, score lines as blue, in DXF layers and SVG groups of those names, matching the defaults most laser software maps to its own cut settings.
What usually goes wrong
- Cutting the outline before the holes. The freed part tilts and the holes cut off-position.
- Skipping kerf on boxes and joints. Fingers and slots come out loose by one kerf per side.
- Engraving a filled shape as a cut. The laser traces the fill boundary only, or worse, cuts through. Separate the layers.
- Nesting parts touching. A 3 to 5 mm gap stops one cut from charring the neighbour and lets the exhaust clear the smoke.
- Quoting from the bounding box. Cut time depends on cut length, not sheet area; use the length and time calculators.
Common questions
Are power and speed settings included?
No. Those depend on the tube, lens, gas assist and material batch, and belong in the laser software. The file carries geometry, layers and kerf; the machine profile carries power and speed.
How accurate is the time estimate?
It sums cut length at the speed you enter plus rapid moves between paths, and adds a settable percentage for acceleration. On CO2 lasers it is usually within 10 percent; check one job and adjust the acceleration allowance.
Do you support common-line cutting?
Cut Line Optimizer removes duplicate edges between parts that already share a line. A full common-line nesting tool, which arranges parts to share edges deliberately, is on the roadmap.
What about the burn marks on acrylic?
Leave the protective film on for cutting, and raise parts on a honeycomb or pins so the reflected beam does not mark the back. The file makers add nothing for that; it is a machine setup matter.