Laser education: Project ideas

Ideas for laser education projects

Once you've decided to purchase a laser cutter for schools, you may find that students are overwhelmed by the creative possibilities. To help you and the students make the most of the laser technology we've compiled a selection of our tutorial to showcase what the laser machine can achive and to help students create stand out projects.

Arts, crafts and prototype laser cutting

Prototype laser cutting is a popualr activity in schools and a wide range of materials are commonly used. One such material is paper, and this can be used to form packaging or to make greetings cards and so much more. With a laser cutter, students can engrave or cut all kinds of intricate designs onto paper with ease, or they can simply score the layout for some prototype packaging and then easily put it together in minutes.

Some project ideas for paper are:

Packaging Catalogue cover

Woodworking

Wood is one of the most frequently used materials in design and technology classes, and is also one of the most popular materials that can be cut or engraved by a laser. The material is used to make everything from chopping boards to signage and displays and provides one of the greatest mediums for students to express their creativity and make almost anything from the material.

What makes wood so suitable for laser technology, is the fact that it is so easy to process. Whether students are cutting complex shapes or engraving intricate designs as finishing touches to their projects, laser cutting and engraving provides many unique advantages when processing wood for school design projects.

A few great project ideas which are ideal for schools are:

Moving wind turbine model Personalised photo frame Wooden pen holder

What materials can be used with laser technology

Our range of laser project tutorials embrace a wide variety of different materials such as acrylics, plastic laminates, wood, metals and so much more. As well as laser machines, Trotec also manufacture a huge range of materials for both laser machines and traditional rotary technology. View our exciting range of materials here.

Engraving Materials

Endless possibilities

The huge list of materials that can be engraved or cut with a laser is almost endless, so visit our DIY section to learn about many more samples that can be made from materials such as acrylic, glass and metals!

DIY laser cutting and engraving tutorials

Food technology

It's even possible to process a variety of foods with a laser, though when it comes to school projects, the main advantages of laser cutting are found in the many ways that one can add presentation value to those foods, or for marking preparation utensils or other items for staff use. A good example of adding presentation value is by creating cake toppers from various materials, or laser cutting cupcake cases.

Inspirational ways to finish food projects:

Cupcake holder

Textiles

The list of possibilities available to be creative using a laser machine is vast. Textiles are another great material that can be processed by a laser. There are three most common ways to finish textiles with a laser. The first is by laser cutting a geometry, the second is by laser engraving a graphic, a pattern or text directly onto the surface of the fabric. The third option involves using an additional material which is then adhered to the surface of the textile. Trotec's LaserFlex material is a heat transfer film which enables you to laser cut your design and add it to the textiles surface via a heat transfer press.

Laser project ideas for textiles:

Laser engraving a cushion Laser cutting LaserFlex deigns for cushion covers