I want to make a plexiglass panel for a cabinet door. I’d like to etch some words on the door and also cut the panel out in the same job. I want to have the machine do the cutting so that the words are centered. If I try to cut it afterwards, it probably won’t be perfectly centered and if I cut it before I think it would be hard to put the sheet in perfectly centered and squared.
This is pretty common, for exactly the reason you described.
In short, Lightburn uses colors to separate your design into layers. Each layer can have different power/speed settings, and each layer is run one after the other.
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Great, that is exactly what I needed to know. Thank you!
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Pro Tip: Etch first then cut second. You can turn off the layers. I typically turn off the cut layer and etch. If I’m happy with the results I can then turn off etch and run the cut or run the etch again.
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I also prefer to sequence the cuts on materials where premature separation from the surrounding frame can cause issues, selecting key cuts along the perimeter (and within) as a second cut layer that runs last.