Week 3: Computer Controlled Cutting

Planted February 5, 2026

Overview

This week I worked on computer controlled cutting in two areas: laser cutting for a press-fit construction kit and vinyl cutting for stickers.

For the laser part I started from a live-hinge idea but switched to a simpler parametric construction kit based on a square piece with slots and filleted connections. I designed it in Fusion 360, then exported faces as SVG using the ExporttoSVG add-in. Before cutting the real pieces I measured kerf on the Xtool P3S by cutting a test rectangle and comparing actual to drawn dimensions; I got 0.29 mm total kerf and used half that value (0.145 mm) per edge in the Xtool software. I did a test cut, then cut several more and built a St Andrew’s cross from the kit.

For vinyl I did two workflows. First I drew a Star Trek–style badge in Inkscape with the Pen and Node tools, added fills, grouped the paths, and exported SVG. I also converted a bitmap (a portrait) to vector in Inkscape using trace bitmap and threshold settings, then exported that for cutting. On the Cricut Maker 4 I cut a multi-layer sticker (black outline, yellow infill, red accent) using the StandardGrip mat, the mat-length measurement step, and the correct material settings for each layer. On the Roland GS24 I took an SVG design into Adobe Illustrator, added a visible stroke for the cut path, exported as EPS, then used VersaWorks to set media width, preview the job, and send it to the machine; I set the origin on the rightmost point of the horizontal axis and used transfer tape to lift the cut vinyl off the backing. Design files for the week are linked at the bottom.

Group Assignment

Below is the link to this weeks group assignment group assignment

Construction Kit

After struggling to fabricate the live hinge containing designs I decided to design a simple parametric construction kit and thus settled on designing a simple kit containing a square piece as the center and sole element of the press fit construction kit.

Below are the parameters I used in my design

Then I extruded the design.

Finally I added a fillet to the connection parts to the connection points entry so that the fits are smoother as can be seen below.

The final version of the design after multiplying the design to every connection place below.

Fabrication

What is Kerf and Role in my Design

Kerf is the width of material removed by the laser beam during cutting. Because the beam has a physical thickness and burns away a small amount of material along its path, the final cut line is never infinitely thin. This removal causes outer dimensions to become slightly smaller and inner features, like slots or holes, to become slightly larger than drawn.

To ensure accurate fitting in parametric designs, kerf must be considered when defining dimensions such as slot widths, finger joints, and hinge gaps. Incorporating kerf compensation helps maintain proper friction-fit behavior and prevents parts from becoming too loose or too tight after cutting.

Thus, to ensure a solid fit, I added a kerf compensation of 0.29 mm using the settings available on the Xtool P3S. Since the laser removes material equally on both sides of a cut, the adjustment is applied as half the kerf value (0.29 ÷ 2 = 0.145 mm) to each edge. In other words, the adjusted dimension is calculated as:

Adjusted dimension = Original dimension ± (Kerf ÷ 2)

• Use “–” for internal features, like slots, to tighten the fit.
• Use “+” for external features, like tabs, to maintain overall size.

In order to measure the kerf I decided to cut out a 40 by 38.41 mm cube from the P3S and then compare the actual to the theoretical. First I opened up the Xtool studio app.

Then by clicking the + bar on the top right corner I created a new project.

After that I added the said rectangle onto the canvas using the shapes button on the menu.

Next it was time to move onto setting up the machine. First I opened the machine from the button on the back and placed the emergency stop back into its resting place so the machine would start up.

Thankfully unlike the previous machine which I used, the P2S, the P3S has an auto capture and scaling mode. To do that there are a couple steps.

Firstly I had to open up the lid, per the instructions.

For the process to start the led at the center must light up indicating the machine is ready to start. Once that lit up I closed the lid.

Then the auto setup process started once the lid was closed.

After measuring and capturing, I could see what the machine detected and realized that I needed to adjust the position of the shape to ensure it was cut correctly. Additionally, to set up the board, I placed it on the stabilizers with magnetic bases to prevent it from shifting, which could have resulted in an inaccurate cut.

Then I gave it a setting of 90 power and 50 speed for a swift and quick cut since the design didn’t have much detail and that was the default suggestion for 3mm wood.

Then I clicked start.

Below is the cutting video.

After fabrication was done I measured the 40mm side and then determined the total kerf of both sides to be 0.29mm making the kerf compensation 0.145 mm.

Learn + Repeat

Thus, for the first design I was going to fabricate I decided to move onto a more traditionally used and simpler to cut design, design 3 mentioned above. Also this time I was able to easily export the project off of Fusion 360 due to the Add-In called ExporttoSVG which allows for faces to be exported as SVG’s off of Fusion 360.

After this I went back to the XTool P3S and followed the same steps I did, though this time I added the kerf compensation through the XTool Environment. First I did a test cut.

Once I saw this worked I cut 4 more to be able to construct something with the press fit construction kit.

Here is the final result of the prints and a construction I created with the press fit construction kit below.

The sample design is a recreation of St Andrew’s cross.

What I learned: Kerf is the width of material removed by the laser and must be measured and compensated so that slots and tabs fit. I used the Xtool P3S auto capture and applied half the kerf value to each edge in the design. Exporting faces as SVG from Fusion 360 and adding kerf in the laser software gave me parts that assembled without play.

Vinyl Design

Design

Resources

Before starting, watch this tutorial on drawing lines and basic pen tool techniques: How to Draw Lines in Inkscape

Drawing Steps

First, I used the Pen tool to draw a rough straight outline of the Star Trek logo. At this stage, the goal was simply to block out the general proportions and overall silhouette of the badge shape, without focusing too much on precision. This gave me a clear starting framework to refine later.

Next, I switched to the Node tool to clean up the outline. By adjusting the anchor points and manipulating the Bézier handles, I smoothed the sharp corners and corrected the curve flow until the badge outline matched the familiar, streamlined Star Trek insignia. This step turned the rough sketch into a polished, vector-accurate shape.

After refining the outline, I used the Bucket Fill tool to color the interior of the badge with a gold/yellow fill. This gave the logo its classic command-division appearance and helped visually separate the inner and outer shapes.

Next, I returned to the Pen tool to draw the starship silhouette inside the badge. I traced the characteristic form of the Enterprise, shaping the saucer section and nacelles so they fit neatly within the badge’s central area.

Then, using the Bucket Fill tool again, I added a blue fill to the starship shape. This color contrast made the inner symbol stand out more clearly against the gold background and aligned with the aesthetic of many Star Trek emblem variations.

Once all elements were complete, I selected every path and used the Group function to combine them. Grouping the shapes ensured that the entire logo behaved as a single object, making it easier to move, scale, or align the final design within other layouts.

With all components finalized, the design was ready to export for laser cutting or for use in other digital applications.

Finally, after I had completed the design I decided to add custom text beneath the logo to give it a personalized twist and to further use the capabilities of the environment, distinguishing it from the original version while keeping the overall style consistent.

png to svg

After completing the design of my own sticker I wanted to fabricate a sticker from an image. For this I decided to use the late great Richard Feynman’s portrait as the image of reference.

In order to convert the image (which was a png) into a path, svg, I decided to return back to inkscape and after watching this tutorial on how to use inkscape for that purpose I got to work. First I embedded the image into an inkscape design and specifically selected smooth so the quality would be optimized to the environment.

After that the image appeared in the editor as seen below.

Then I right clicked on the image in order to pop up the modifications menu and selected the trace bitmap option to go to the conversion screen.

After spending some time playing around with the settings through the sliders on the right of the image below, especially increasing the threshold a bit so it could easily distinguish the parts, I was able to obtain the bitmap seen below.

As can be seen below the said paths appeared as shown.

Finally I exported the design off of the inkscape app onto my desktop to send it to fabrication.

What I learned: Vector drawing in Inkscape uses the Pen and Node tools for outlines and Bucket Fill for closed shapes; grouping keeps the design as one object. Bitmap trace converts a raster image to paths using threshold and other settings in the trace dialog. Exporting as SVG from Inkscape produces a file that cutting machines can use.

Fabrication

My sticker design | Cricut Maker 4

For my vinyl sticker I decided to use the cricut maker 4 in order to fabricate my design so I opened to cricut app and created a blank canvas.

Then by selecting the upload option I got to the upload screen below.

And after selecting my design uploaded it onto the app.

After continuing I got to the said screen below and saved my project on the dedicated academy folder and moved forward onto the canvas screen.

On the canvas screen I just checked whether or not the 3 layers of my design—being the ship, infill and outline—were viewed and defined correctly and moved onto fabrication.

To prepare for applying the sheets, I retrieved the Cricut StandardGrip mat so I could place them properly.

I decided to start with the black outline of the sticker, and thankfully the black sheet had been cut to a decent size. One of my previous failed attempts was still on it as well. I then placed the sheet directly onto the StandardGrip mat.

To ensure the sheet stayed stable on the mat, I used the roller from the Cricut kit to press it down evenly and straighten out any bumps.

After that, I returned to the computer, since the physical components were finally ready for fabrication. I selected the correct settings, sent the file to the fabrication process, and everything was ready to go.

Final position before fabrication.

After positioning the mat correctly on the machine, I pressed the center button (<>), which prompted the Cricut Maker 4 to measure the length of the mat and adjust the cutting head to the correct starting position. This process was repeated for all layers.

Finally, the machine was ready to cut out my design. I was prompted to press the start button, and everything was set in motion.

Layer one after cutout, though not quite visible.

Then I moved on to the second layer. This time, however, the yellow paper was too large to fit on the mat, so I used the Cricut scissors to cut out a piece of suitable size for my design.

Then, as I did with the first layer, I once again placed the mat on the machine and used the (<>) button so the machine could measure the mat length and appropriate itself accordingly.

Below is fabrication of layer 2.

The third layer was originally intended to be blue though at this time the lab didn’t have the blue sheet thus I used a red one for layer 3, and again cut the sheet so it had appropriate proportions.

After that I once again did the place and measure in preparation for the third and final layer’s fabrication.

Fabrication video of layer 3.

As the 3 layers were done I moved onto the sticking phase and placed the three layers onto the vinyl sticker wall in our lab one by one.

Layer 1:

Layer 2:

Layer 3:

Below is a previous fail of mine with the star trek logo caused particularly by usage of the wrong tool in the environment and failure to group my design before export.

After finishing my work on the machine I put the cover of the standard grip mat back on so that it wouldn’t collect dust.

What I learned: The Cricut Maker 4 uses a StandardGrip mat and the machine measures mat length with the center button before each cut. Multi-layer vinyl is cut one layer at a time with the correct material type selected in the app. Sheets must be pressed flat with the roller and the mat positioned correctly so the cut registers to the design.

SVG to PNG | Roland GS24

After obtaining my design on the computer connected to the roland machines I first opened the design in adobe illustrator for pre-processing.

After that, I added a visible stroke around the cut contour, making sure the machine could properly detect the edges and understand exactly where it needed to cut. (this is a characteristic of GS24)

Now that the design was ready it was once again time to open the machine.

After I opened the machine I learned that I had to export the design in illustrator EPS format to be able to fabricate it from the said machine.

Then I opened VersaWorks the software of the GS2-24.

I imported the file into VersaWorks.

After that I set media width to make my design be proper, in terms of dimensions, for my material.

Then I went into the Clip and Tie section so I could preview a close-up of how the final form would look.

Below is how to send it to fabrication from VersaWorks.

After that I moved onto the machine. First I selected the correct sheet type which was roll.

After that I set the origin of the head of the machine which was the rightmost part of the horizontal axis.

As you can see below it said ORIGIN SET to indicate the correct setting.

Then I clicked start, and the machine was off to the races. Note that the video below doesn’t show the full fabrication process, just a portion of it, because the design was very detailed and took a long time to complete.

Here is the status after fabrication while the debris are still on.

This is the version of the sticker after I got the excess parts off, but due to the many paths I needed a quick way to get it off the paper.

I found the solution through transfer paper where with a solid stick and after some rolling with the cricut roller it got the full sticker off.

Final version on my water flask.

What I learned: The Roland GS24 expects a visible stroke on the cut path and the file must be exported as EPS from Illustrator. VersaWorks is used to set media width, preview the clip, and send the job to the machine. The origin is set on the rightmost point of the horizontal axis and transfer tape is used to lift the cut vinyl from the backing.

Vinyl Board

This was an interesting experiment which coincided with the week so I wanted to include it here. For one of the research projects I am working on with Mr. Yalçın at the lab we needed a way to manufacture “non-rigid”, the terminology might be wrong, traces. After some searching I stumbled upon this tutorial made at the CBA by Nadya Peek for vinyl cut PCB making.

The tutorial was helpful and after reading thorugh it and taking some notes it was onto fabrication.

Pre-processing

Unlike cad.py used in the tutorail I was using KiCad and Inkscape for my pre-processing and thus I had to find moy own workflow to get the boards ready.

The first issue of the pre-processing struggles can be seen below Due to the nature of an svg when I used fill on inkscape these extra lines of the svg would gain color and would be cut as well ruining the fabricated board, these lines appear due to the way svg’s are characterized.

So I had to devise a way to add proper stroke color, since Roland GS2-24- the machine we use- requires a stroke color for cut, and not have affects which would ruin the PCB.

The logic I used was this

1. Export an inverted SVG of the board from KiCad
2. Turn the 2 groups of the exported svg, the traces and background into single paths
3. crop the back rectangle to have same size as the front rectangle with traces on it
4. Do an exclusion of the trace whole board on the background rectangle to just get the traces and the paths left on the board to appropriately stroke
5. Resize page to selection for ease of use to have an svg the size of the board for ease of use.

result

now that the computational issues were done it was time for fabrication fails.)

The main issue was my illiteracty of the GS2-24 at the start. I had to figure out a spesific placement for my copper sheet since it was quite wide enough. I had to place my sheet in a way such that it wouldn’t be too loosely touching the wheels such that it moved or the wheels weren’t too close such that I wasn’t able to get the correct board. Below is the final setup

After some attemps and struggles I was able to produce the board in the image below. I used the settings cut speed 15 cm/s and power 70gf.

This board was serviceable and it passed the multimeter check, but there was an issue: I couldn’t get the excess copper out. I tried transfer tape, tweezers, but it just wasn’t working.

I assume that it was caused by how it was cut. Though it passed the multimeter check it was deep enough that the copper would come off so I had to try another approach.

I tried different pen force and speed combos, but in other settings either some piece of the copper would come flying off or the cut wasn’t deep enough.

For now this experiment is ongoing where I am on the fail and learn stage of make fail learn repeat.

Added this part to my documentation since the attempt was in the context of the week

Extra Credits not done above

These are extra credits not already completed above by the base assignment as their seperate section

Engrave

For the engarving part of this week I decided to use the F1 Ultra to label my trusty adaptor.

First I placed it in the F1 Ultra

Next I captured the image of it on the machine and focused the laser for a good cut.

After that I added the text for labeling from XTool’s environment and fabricated

Below is the final result post engrave

Non flat

I decided to design live hinge rectangles for this extra credit assignment. Below is the parameters table I used

Using these parameters I designed this modular live hinge rectangle object below

After that it was onto the laser cutter for some experimentation.

Since nobody had cut kraft paper in a while I had to do some experimentation to get it right

first I did a material test with power range 10 to 80 and speed range 0 to 100 I found the rough range to be 55 power to 10 speed for an accurate cut.

After that I wanted a spesific, optimized setting for a nice cut and did anotehr test from 51 to 63 power and 8 to 14 speed.

Through these evaluations I found the optimal setting to be 62 power to 14 speed for a clean kraft paper cut.

Then I manufactured my rectangles with their live hinges and joints

After that it was onto the bend test. It passed my metrics with flying colors

as the kit works I went on and constructed them into kits as shown below.

Below is the bend test

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Design files

week3.zip — design files for this assignment.

Resources

• education on Live Hinges