How to laser cut printed acryl & wood with Print & Cut

The combination of laser cutting and printing technologies presents plenty of opportunities for businesses seeking to innovate. Laser cutting, renowned for its versatility across various substrates, offers distinctive advantages, such as delivering flame-polished edges on acrylics without the need for any post-processing. This capability holds immense potential for enhancing printed material applications, enabling businesses to craft eye-catching designs with ease. But how does the process of "Print & Cut" unfold, particularly when it comes to laser cutting printed acrylic and wood? Let's delve into this dynamic technique and explore how it can revolutionize your business.

"Print & Cut" in the context of laser cutting printed acrylic and wood refers to a process where a design is first printed onto acryl or wood and then that printed material is loaded into a laser cutter. The laser cutter is then programmed to follow the printed design, cutting precisely along its outline. This technique ensures that the materials can automatically be cut with a laser cutter using registration marks. To streamline the "Print & Cut" process, registration marks need to be incorporated onto the material alongside the design. These marks serve as guides for the laser cutter, ensuring precise alignment and facilitating the shaping and contouring of finished printed products. By adopting this approach, businesses can create intricate designs with remarkable accuracy and flexibility.

By following these steps, you can prepare print files for laser cutting accurately and efficiently, ensuring high-quality results for your project:

• Document Setup: Set up your document with the correct dimensions matching the size of your material.
• Layers Organization: Create separate layers with specific colors for cut lines, engraving, and any other design elements. This will make it easier to manage and modify your design later.
• Registration Marks: Add registration marks to your design to ensure accurate alignment during cutting. Use small circles as marks to place them near the corners of your image.
• Text Considerations: Convert all text to outlines to avoid font compatibility issues. This ensures that the laser cutter will interpret the text as shapes rather than fonts.
• Review and Proof: Before sending your file for cutting, review it thoroughly to ensure that all elements are correctly positioned.
• Push to laser: Once you're satisfied with your design, turn it into a laser job, selecting the material parameters in our laser software Ruby®. Then press “push to laser”. Our Vision Design & Position Camera reads the marks one by one prior to the cutting process and adjusts the cutting contour accordingly.

For optimal results in print & cut applications, opt for acrylic with a thickness ranging from 3 to 10 mm. Extruded acrylic is preferable for its low thickness tolerance, making it suitable for precise applications. Conversely, cast acrylic finds its niche in shop fitting, trade fair construction, and visual merchandising. Ensure the right laser processing table, tailored to the size of parts and materials, along with appropriate lens selection for both acrylic type and thickness. Extraction is crucial to maintain a clean workspace. For larger acrylic applications exceeding 5 mm in thickness, employing a  acrylic slat cutting table is recommended to minimize material contact points and mitigate potential back reflections that could impact the material's quality.

To achieve ideal results in laser cutting printed wood, it is recommended to select wood ranging from veneers to panels with a thickness up to 20 mm. MDF, plywood, and veneer stand out as the most popular choices for laser cutting across diverse industries and applications. Ensuring an optimal exhaust system and utilizing air assist with compressed air are crucial factors to accomplish clean cut edges. To avoid burn marks, it is essential to work at a high speed – depending on the material. A low frequency, a small lens, a small nozzle and the air supply switched on ensure optimum results. As with almost all cutting work, a honeycomb table is required, subject to the size of the application.

Achieve precise and efficient cuts with careful attention to settings, speed and power levels:

• The settings for laser cutting printed wood and acrylic depend on factors such as the type, composition and thickness of the material, the complexity of the design, and the desired cutting speed. Before cutting, it is essential to calibrate the laser cutter to ensure accurate cutting. Here is a tutorial on how to calibrate your Vision Print & Cut camera
• Proper ventilation and exhaust systems are necessary to remove fumes and waste generated during the laser cutting process, especially when working with acrylic or wood.
• The optimal cutting speed and power levels depend on the material being cut and the intricacy of the design. Generally, a slower speed and lower power level are used for intricate designs or thinner materials to ensure clean cuts without damaging the printed surface. Conversely, for simpler shapes or thicker materials, higher speeds and power levels may be used to increase efficiency.

Finest geometries, complex shapes and designs can be cut precisely with our laser cutter while the material is used efficiently since minimal waste is created. No matter if you are planning to produce displays, signs, architectural models or prototypes our Speedy Series is ideal for cost-effective print & cut applications.