Laser Cutting and Engraving

Reserve the laser cutter. If you’ve never used it before and/or are unsure of the process, feel free to stop by the MakerSpace and speak with our staff about your project.

Provide your own items to be cut/engraved (allowable materials.) You need to provide a file with the pattern/picture to cut or engrave. These are vector graphic files and pictures, but we can convert other file types. (Be prepared to spend your first session working on your file and testing! MakerSpace staff can help you with settings and some amount of setup.)

ONLY allowable materials can be cut. If you’re unsure of what a material is, we will not cut it. MakerSpace staff is not qualified to determine what materials are made of. As some materials can off-put toxic gas, we will ONLY cut and engrave items of verifiable origin.

Of course! We don’t expect everyone to be familiar with using laser cutters. Feel free to stop by with questions about your project or if you’d like to stop by just to see how it works and get some ideas. We’ll be happy to help.

For cutting: up to materials 24 inches x 12 inches and can cut up to a ¼ inches deep.
For engraving: it can house flat materials 24 inches x 12 inches x 8 inches deep OR cylindrical objects up to 20 inches long.

The time it takes varies on the size of the project, whether you are cutting or engraving, and the file. Examples of times:
24 inches x12 inches wood cutting—many pieces: 20-45 min
engraving aluminum travel mug: 7 min

We cannot offer time estimates, so please overbook the time you think it’ll take when reserving.

The Epilog Zing will engrave anything from vector designs and logos to photographs. Additionally, it can engrave on a variety of materials from denim and fleece to glass and anodized aluminum. It will also engrave cylindrical objects. For more information on what the Zing is capable of, see Epilog’s gallery.

The laser cutter is free to use. Patrons must bring their own materials for cutting/engraving.

You can download cutting projects from various sources on the web including:

• Thingiverse
• You can also do a search for images appropriate for cutting or engraving

Options are limitless!

To make a file for cutting, we recommend using Corel Draw or another vector graphic software like:

• Adobe Illustrator
• Inkscape

(You can find these in the MakerSpace.)

Check out this tutorial for more information on how to create files in Corel to work with the laser cutter. In short:

• you’ll use Hairline lines to cut materials
• All other images will be engraved in grayscale
• Once you have a file prepared, we will load it into Corel to print on the laser cutter for you

Don’t know how to use these software programs? Check out Lynda.com online tutorials free with your library card!

Engraving:

• Wood
• Acrylic
• Fabric/Cloth
• Glass
• Coated Metals
• Ceramics (Including Tile)
• Delrin
• Leather
• Marble
• Matte Board
• Melamine
• Paper
• Mylar
• Pressboard
• Rubber
• Wood Veneer
• Painted Metals
• Cork
• Corian
• Anodized Aluminum

Cutting:

• Wood
• Acrylic
• Fabric/Cloth
• Delrin
• Leather
• Matte Board
• Melamine
• Paper
• Mylar
• Pressboard
• Rubber
• Wood Veneer
• Cork
• Corian