Speaking more of Corel because that’s what I mostly use. When I have an SVG and choose hairline, does the laser cut on the outline I see on the screen, or does it cut around it?
Thx!
With the small lasers, the cut will be centered on the hairline. I think Lightburn might provide some options you can tweak.
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I want to say hairline in Corel is the thinnest line in a file. When you zoom in on the design the other elements will grow but a hairline will always be a thin line. And when cutting the laser will follow this line precisely. With the inevitable kerf involved both sides of the cut loose materiel and final dimensions will change. If you are cutting a tab that needs to fit another part compensation has to be made in the file.
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That was enough hint to find it in the docs. Thanks!!
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It’s on the line exactly, by default. The cut width is “kerf” and about 0.008" in thin materials. It is easily measurable.
In most cases we don’t bother accounting for it but in cases like finger joints and inlays it matters.
Lightburn has several ways to account for kerf, with their own advantages and disadvantages.
Kerf compensation does require knowing which direction we’re trying to shift the perimeter in. When you cut a 10mm square, do you want the hole to be exactly 10mm, or the square that is cut out to be exactly 10mm? It does require closed shapes in the design to set kerf compensation.
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For context, this is for an inlay that came from an illustration converted to SVG. I found a few articles on measuring kerf. Thanks for the tips!
Measuring kerf is as simple as cutting a 20x20mm square and measure the actual dimensions with calipers.
If it measures 19.8mm wide, that does include the kerf of two sides, so your kerf is 0.1mm.
On thicker materials, kerf is not exactly the same from top to bottom, so choose what you think is best for your job
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