Designing for laser cutting with Affinity Designer

Affinity Designer is one of the best software programs for preparing files for laser cutting: it works in pure vector, offers precise control over lines and curves, and allows exporting to the most commonly used laser formats. This guide will show you the essential settings for creating a clean, machine-readable file free of common errors.

1. Set up the document

Table dimensions

Create a new document with one of 4 different material formats:

Make sure the unit of measurement is set to millimeters.

Color mode

For laser cutting, you don't need a complex color profile. Set:

• Document color: RGB
• Profile: sRGB (standard and compatible)

2. Draw shapes suitable for laser cutting

Cutting lines

The laser interprets vector lines as paths to follow. In Affinity Designer:

• set it stroke on 0.1–0.2 pt
• use color blue (RGB 0.0.255)
• no filling, no effect

Engraving lines

To engrave instead of cut:

• stroke black or Grey
• avoid gradients, transparencies or patterns

Curves and knots

Affinity allows for precise control:

• use the Node Tool to simplify the curves
• eliminates unnecessary knots
• avoid details that are too small that the laser cannot reproduce

3. Manage complex text and shapes

Convert text to curves

To avoid missing font problems:

1. Select text
2. Menu Layer → Convert to Curves

Compound forms

If you use overlapping shapes:

• join with Add (boolean)
• subtract with Subtract
• make sure there are no duplicate lines or hidden segments left

4. Avoid common mistakes

Overlapping lines

Two identical lines one above the other cause the laser to pass twice. Check with:

• View → Outline Mode to see only the vectors
• Select → Select Same → Stroke Color to detect duplicate items

Raster objects

The laser does not interpret raster images (JPG, PNG). If you need to use them as a reference:

• keep them on a separate layer
• block them
• do not include them in the final export

5. Export the file for laser cutting

Recommended format: SVG or DXF