Illustrator Versions CS2 and earlier are supported.
All drawings must be expressed in inches.
In “Document Setup”, set Artboard Width to 32” and Height to 18”. All parts to be cut or scored must be ¼” inside this perimeter to avoid bleed problems
• Effectively, this makes the cutting area 31-1/2” x 17-1/2”.
Lines to be cut or scored (rather than engraved) must be expressed as vectors. Select the lines, and in the “Window”, “Stroke”, drop-down menu assign these elements a stroke of .001”.
• You must type this in; it is not an option to be selected.
Elements to be engraved, such as wider lines and filled artwork, must be expressed in raster mode. Stroke weight should be set to .25 pt or higher. Fill can be set to any color other than white.
Parts to be cut, scored, or engraved must be placed on separate layers. Name the layers “cut”, “score” and “engrave” respectively.
Erase all stray lines.
Remove all overlapping and duplicate lines. The laser will double-cut overlapping lines, with very negative results.
The laser’s kerf is approximately .008” centered on the drawn line. This will cause the parts that are cut to be slightly smaller than what is drawn. This fact is normally insignificant, but if it is critical to your work, please make a note of it.
The rule of thumb for spacing between discrete parts is to allow at least half of the thickness of the material between relatively parallel cuts, particularly on acrylics.
• For example, if you are using ¼” acrylic, allow 1/8” spacing between individual parts.
Draw everything in Illustrator. Files drawn in other programs that are then imported or pasted into Illustrator will cause problems.