The most common source of frustration for industrial clients sending files to Laser, Plasma, CNC or Router is the unpredictable nature of the result. In an effort to reduce the potential for error we offer the following advice.

1. Polylines - using polylines will save you money because they cut more efficiently. You can create polylines (plines) by joining lines and arcs. Please also make sure that closed shapes become polylines.
2. 2D Drawings - since our laser systems cut in 2 axes, all drawings must in X,Y plane. 3D effect is achieved by laminating parts together.
3. Clean Drawings - please make sure that all lines are continuous and non-overlapping because every line drawn will be cut. Use ZOOM EXTENTS, check for off-screen objects and remove them. Remove any blocks with EXPLODE command. SPLINES should never be used since they do not produce smooth curves and arcs when cut.
4. Layers - use layer controls to differentiate types of cut such as etching and cutting and types of materials.
5. Layer Names - use descriptive layer names such as cut030acrylic (meaning cut layer using 1/32 inch thick acrylic) or etch030 (meaning etch layer using 1/32 thick acrylic).
6. Lettering - most CAD programs do not create letters as line information. Laser Alliance LLC uses a special software that generate high resolution output for more than 70 outlined fonts. We can also import fonts from other graphics programs into AutoCAD files.
7. 1:1 Drawings - change the scale of your drawings to finished part size. This will ensure that your project will proceed quickly and accurately.
8. Offset for laser beam width - the width of our laser varied from .008" to .010" depending on materials. For high tolerance work, compensate using OFFSET command. To compensate for the laser beam width, offset you cut line half the beam width away from the part you want to keep. On inside cut-outs, offset toward the inside and on outside cutouts, offset toward the outside. For most materials, use offset of .004" is sufficient. For 1/2 thick or thicker materials, use an offset of .005". Be sure to remove the original objects.
9. Group Parts - parts that required same material and thickness should be grouped together.
10. Purge all unused layers and blocks.
11. Scale drawing to desired size.
12. Space between cut lines should be 1:1 to material thickness.
13. Label each sheet with the material and thickness desired.
14. We accept AutoCAD DWG and DXF files up to version 2006.
15. Make sure there are no duplicate or overlapping lines (this will cause the laser to cut in the same place multiple times and will yield an undesirable result)
16. Do not use SPLINE command. This will make the curves become faceted.