Start your project

You must use ours design template to create your design.

CorelDRAW 9 does not support our templates. We recommend using version X3 and later.

After downloading them, open CorelDRAW the template you prefer, as you would with a normal file. Then start drawing your project.

You can design for laser cutting in one of five different material formats:

Vectorealism laser cutting format | P1 191x191

P1
useful size:
181 x 181 mm

Vectorealism laser cutting format | P2 394x394

P2
useful size:
384 x 384 mm

Vectorealism laser cutting format | P3 800x394

P3
useful size:
790 x 384 mm

Vectorealism laser cutting format | P4 80x80

P4
useful size:
790 x 790 mm

Vectorealism laser cutting format | 80x45

80×45
useful size:
800 x 450 mm
available only for
felt and cardboard

How to draw for the laser

The color used for the drawn lines determines what the laser will do, whether it is a cut or an engraving.

For example, if you draw a bird with a blue outline, the laser will cut a bird ...

Corel Draw laser cutting lines

If you convert the same lines in red, the laser will engrave the bird on the chosen material, and so on.

It's that easy!

Now let's get to the details ...

 

Cutting lines

The basic part of your design are the shapes you will cut.

The simplest way to visualize how this will turn into your project is to imagine placing on a sheet of paper the pieces you would like to make, and then draw their outline on the sheet with a pencil. Your file should remember that sheet with the lines drawn.

To obtain a cutting line, draw a line or shape.

So, in the window Object properties (Object properties) set the thickness of the contour by clicking in the 'Thickness' box (Width) and writing '0.01mm', then press enter:

Corel Draw laser cutting lines

Sets the color of the outline as blue RGB with values ​​0, 0, 255:

Corel Draw laser cutting lines

Engraving of vector lines

The vector etching process is very similar to the cutting method, but instead of piercing the material, the laser only affects the surface.

The laser will move along the engraving lines in your drawing. There are three different levels of engraving available: light, medium and deep, each with a different intensity and therefore depth. All three incisions are drawn very precisely with subtle lines, roughly the same size as the laser beam.

Thickness of the contour

In the window Object Properties (Object Properties) set the thickness of the contour by clicking in the 'Thickness' box (Width) and writing '0.01mm', then press enter.

Vector laser engravings in Corel Draw

Light vector engraving

Sets the outline color as magenta RGB with values ​​255, 0, 255:

Light vector laser engravings in Corel Draw

Vector media engraving

Sets the outline color as RGB green with values ​​0, 255, 0:

Medium vector laser engravings in Corel Draw

Deep vector engraving

Sets the outline color as RGB red with values ​​255, 0, 0:

Raster laser engravings read in Corel Draw

Engraving of raster fills

Generally, raster fills are used for areas with backgrounds, but you can also make a raster incision of lines that have a contour with a thickness greater than 0.3mm. Engraving in raster mode a thinner line will probably not lead to good results.

The scale of the raster engraving goes from the black that corresponds to the most marked incision, up to the very light gray that will make the engraving lighter (or white, which corresponds to the null incision). You can use any grayscale between the two extremes, but remember that the three RGB values ​​must be equivalent. Make sure you use solid and spot colors and no patterns or textures.

To obtain a more defined border in an area engraved with a raster pattern, combines the black or gray fill with a contour corresponding to a vector engraving.

The values of the engraving depth are indicated in the "technical details" tab of each material in the catalog.

The incisions do not change according to the thickness of the material (unless otherwise indicated in the sheet).

Engraving of light raster fills

Sets the fill color to light gray with the RGB values ​​of 230, 230, 230:

Raster laser engravings read in Corel Draw

The light raster engraving is absolutely superficial, altering the color of the material without going deep.

Engraving of medium raster fills

Sets the fill color as gray with the RGB values ​​of 128, 128, 128:

Medium raster laser engravings in Corel Draw

Engraving of deep raster fills

Sets the fill color as black with the RGB values ​​of 0, 0, 0:

Deep raster laser engravings in Corel Draw

To use the text

All the texts inserted in your drawing must be converted into curves. In this way the laser will follow your drawing correctly, even without having the same installed font.

To turn the text into curves, just select it and then choose Arrange (Arrange)> Convert to Curves (Convert to Curves) from the top menu. Once you run this command, you will not be able to edit the text, so do this after checking the spelling!

Use of text in Corel Draw

You can create texts using fills for raster engravings, lines for vector engravings, or a combination of the two types of incisions.

 

To use images

Our making system takes into account only the drawings in vector, ignore all the images inserted in other formats (like.jpg or .bmp).

If you want to insert a non-vector image in your file, you have to trace it in vector. No need to do it by hand! You can do this simply by selecting the inserted image and using the command Bitmaps> Bitmap Trace (Bitmap Trace). You'll see a lot of tracing options, so do several tests until you find the one that's right for you. Make sure your traced shapes are presented in a uniform, flat color.

Use of images in Corel Draw

The original image remains behind the tracing, so select it and delete it.

Then, select the elements drawn with the 'Pick tool' and use the command and use the Arrange (Arrange)> Separate (Ungroup).

Use of images in Corel Draw

If the tracing worked properly, by clicking on the 'Modeling' tool, you should be able to see the vectors all around the individual parts of the traced image.

Finally, to choose the desired raster input level, select all the traced elements and set the fill color through the window Object Properties (Object Properties).

 

How to remove double lines

If you place two objects next to each other, in such a way as to match the ends, it is very likely that you get the overlap of the cutting lines.

Double lines are not easy to spot at a glance in CorelDRAW because they look identical to single lines. These double lines must be eliminated in such a way as to obtain a single cutting line, or, better said, a shared cutting line; otherwise the laser will literally cut the same part twice (which is not ideal either for the performance on the material, or for your estimate!).

This is the procedure to remove the double lines:

Step 1: Select one of the two adjacent objects with the 'Pointer' tool, and use the command Arrange> Convert to Curves (Convert to Curves).

Corel Draw - guide to remove double laser cutting lines

Step 2: Use the 'Modeling' tool to select a node (one end) of the double line you would like to remove.

Corel Draw - guide to remove double laser cutting lines

Step 3: With the node highlighted in blue, click on the 'Break Curve' button.

Corel Draw - guide to remove double laser cutting lines

Step 4: Click on the node at the other end of the double line, and use the 'Split Curve' button again.

Corel Draw - guide to remove double laser cutting lines

Step 5: Use the command Arrange (Arrange)> Divide curve (Break Curve Apart) .

Corel Draw divide curve

Step 6: Click elsewhere to deselect the object, then click on the double line you wish to remove. At this point you will see only the line selected, and you can finally delete it by pressing delete (backspace) on the keyboard. The other blue line in the background will remain in place.

Corel Draw double lines

Step 7: Repeat this process until you have deleted all the double lines.

 

Export the file

For Coreldraw X3, X4, X5:

Step 1: Use the command File> Export.

Step 2: Change the file name, select 'Files of type: (Save as type :) SVG - Scaleable Vector Graphics', and click on 'Export'.

Corel Draw exports files for laser cutting

Step 3: Make sure that the 'Export SVG' panel is similar to the one shown in the figure (height and width will depend on the size of the template you used), then click 'OK'.

Corel Draw exports SVG for laser cutting

For Coreldraw X6 and later:

Step 1: Use the command File> Export

Step 2: Change the file name, select 'File type: (Save as type :) EPS - Encapsulated Postscript ', and click on' Export '.

Export from Corel Draw for laser cutting

Step 3: Make sure the colors are set as in the options window RGB (Output colors as: RGB)

Export from Corel Draw for laser cutting

Done! Now you can upload the file

or read the FAQ