Generating laser cut files with Inkscape

Inkscape is installed on all of the computers of the CAD Stations and Test & measurement area in Maker-E

Click the start menu on your desktop, and open up Inkscape

In this example, we are going to import the Bucknell logo into Inkscape

Inkscape supports drag and drop. After you drop the logo into Inkscape, you should see a pop up window like this

For most of the applications, hit "OK" and continue

First select your drawing by clicking on it

You may scale your drawing by dragging the arrows around it. You may also position your drawing by dragging it

You may also enter your desired size and position of your image in the boxes on the top.

In this example, the height and width are set to 10 mm to save the material

The X and Y positions are set to 0 for alignment

If you need to zoom in and out on your canvas, you may hold "control" and scroll up and down

To cut your drawing off the material, you need to define your boarders

First select the shape of the boarder you want from the tool bar on the left. In this example, a square is drawn around the logo

After you converted First select your boarder. Then go to the "Path" bar on the top and select "Stroke to Path". This will convert your drawing to a cut

Now your boarder should be a hollow shape

You may scale and position your boarder use the same techniques you used for your drawing

The settings in the image positions the boarder around the logo with 2.5 mm gap

You may want to do some math if you want to center your drawing perfectly in your boarder

After you are satisfied with your drawings, you may export your file for the laser cutter

Save your file as if you were saving your word file. Make sure it is saved as an svg file

Now you can upload your file to the Glowforge, and laser cut your file

Refer to the Glowforge tutorial on how to cut it: Basic Cutting and Etching