Many people ask our sales team, &#;What is the best software for laser engraving machines and laser cutters?&#;
You can find more information on our web, so please take a look.
Just like many questions we&#;re asked, there are always a number of variables.
Even so, the answer is highly-dependent on job requirements and personal preference. Budget, experience, laser power and hardware also have a big influence.
Here we take a look at some of the best laser engraver software, that also works with CO2 laser cutters, covering both free and paid options, whilst taking into account their pros, cons, and costs.
Throughout this page, the terms &#;vector&#; and &#;raster&#; are used a few times. These are two different types of graphics that can be used for laser applications.
Vector files or graphics use precise paths made from lines between two or more points. They can be scaled up or down without losing quality. They are best used for intricate design when cutting through materials as well as engraving very thin lines (scoring).
Some examples of vector file formats include (but aren&#;t limited to):
Raster graphics are made up of small pixels e.g. digital photos. This means they lose quality when scaled up. Therefore, high resolutions must be used for effective results. Raster is preferred for engraving larger areas e.g. filled letters, shapes, and images.
Some examples of raster graphic file formats are:
Raster graphics are also referred to as bitmap images. For more information check out Graphic Files Explained.
When using laser engravers and cutters, choosing the right file type is crucial for precision and efficiency.
The most commonly used file types are:
Each file type offers unique advantages and challenges, affecting the workflow and final product quality in laser engraving and cutting projects.
We would personally recommend using .DXF if you can overcome the learning curve that comes with it.
All of our laser machines come with RD Works software (older models were previously Lasercut), which is essentially a communication platform allowing a design to be sent to the laser cutter.
It is less intended for design, other than simple shapes and text, and simply serves as a bridge between various design software options out there and the machine itself.
For a small upgrade fee, we can supply our laser engravers or cutters with the highly respected LightBurn software with your purchase (see below for more info about LightBurn).
Here&#;s an overview of some of the most popular design programs used for both laser cutters and laser engraving machines.
LightBurn is rapidly becoming one of the most popular laser engraver software choices. It&#;s suitable for both laser cutting and engraving, and for good reason.
Not only does it have some clever features that can be used for editing vector shapes, arranging, image tracing and creating on a blank canvas, LightBurn also acts as the communication platform to the laser machine itself.
This means that some users might not need to use a more expensive full design package depending on their requirements.
It works with a range of file types and is great for both vector and raster work, allows for custom grids and it is also incredibly easy to use, making it an excellent choice even for beginners.
It is worth noting, LightBurn video tutorials are straightforward to follow, enabling you to effectively use the program very quickly compared to others.
It&#;s compatible with Windows, macOS and Linux and comes with 12-months of updates.
You can pick up the DSP license key from HPC Laser for £199.00 +VAT. You are also entitled to technical support from our expert team.
Alternatively, it can be purchased directly from LightBurn (without support from HPC).
Illustrator is the industry standard in vector graphics with some extremely advanced features.
It&#;s an extremely popular and versatile piece of software. It can be quite overwhelming for a graphics beginner but, it has just about everything you could ever need for working with vector graphics.
Without listing every feature, you can trace images, design business cards, create topography and even design a website, all in this one program.
You can find deeper look at its features in this PCMag review.
If you use Photoshop, InDesign, Premiere Pro or any other Adobe software you can save money by subscribing to one of the various Adobe CC packages.
Photoshop is the most well-known of these programs. It&#;s so widely used that &#;photoshopped&#; is now in the English dictionary.
This software has expanded massively since its release in and is now the industry standard of digital arts.
It&#;s primarily a raster graphics program frequently used for image retouching and processing for laser engraving.
CorelDRAW is a powerful vector-based software available for Windows and macOS.
It is extremely popular throughout the laser industry and is one of Adobe Illustrator&#;s biggest competitors.
Although quite expensive, there are various buying formats covering different packages, subscriptions and lump sum payments.
It has a large range of features and a highly customisable interface, you can even change to an Illustrator layout if you&#;re more familiar with that.
PhotoGrav is an image processing software predominantly used to process raster images so they can be laser engraved onto material whilst sacrificing minimal detail.
However, PhotoGrav is also compatible with vector graphics.
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It&#;s incredibly easy to use, even with little or no graphics experience, this can save you a lot of time processing images in various other programs.
One huge perk of PhotoGrav is the simulation mode, providing you with an example of what your design is likely to look like on various materials, from anodized aluminium to painted acrylic and woods.
Although the render is not 100% accurate, it gives you a very good indication of how your engraving will look.
GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is an open-source graphics editor compatible with Windows, macOS and Linux.
It&#;s a raster graphics program used for photo retouching, image composition and image authoring.
It&#;s free to download, so makes a good place to start for a beginner or simply to save money after purchasing your new laser cutter.
Inkscape is an open-source vector graphics software.
It&#;s free, compatible with Windows, macOS and Linux, and only uses 82mb of storage, making it ideal for anyone who wants to dive into the world of graphics without forking out for new software and hardware to do so.
There are many great free plug-ins available that can be useful and save time, go to fixthephoto to check some of them out.
Choosing software can be daunting, especially for a beginner.
Yet, each of these programs offers either a free trial, money-back guarantee or is completely free, giving you a great opportunity to try out as many as you like.
As a beginner, it certainly makes sense to try a couple of programs to see which you feel the most comfortable with. You can always try another program in the future.
If you are already used to one of these programs, you&#;re likely to stick with it, particularly premium software such as Adobe & Corel.
That being said, we highly recommend trying out Lightburn over all of the others. It&#;s a great all-rounder, costs significantly less, and is fast and easy to use.
And for those who aim to engrave top-quality images, PhotoGrav is the way to go.
When designing for laser cutting, you need software that can turn your ideas into a file CNC laser cutters can understand. If SendCutSend is making your parts, that means 2D vector graphics files in 1:1 scale, in .dxf, .dwg, .ai, or .eps format. But what if you&#;re making your own parts on your own laser?
In this article we&#;ll cover some common options and what to look for when choosing software to laser cut your parts.
You can think of laser cutting software from two perspectives. There&#;s software you use to create a design. Then there&#;s software you use to tell the laser cutting machine how to cut your design. Some software has the capabilities to do both the design and the laser instructions.
A typical workflow might start with design software to create the shape you want to cut, exporting it in an appropriate format and then importing it to set up the cut process in a laser instruction software. From there, the instructions file (usually called g-code) goes to the laser cutting machine and the parts get cut.
This shouldn&#;t come as a surprise, but they all work differently. In some software you create your design by drawing 2-dimensional vector shapes like lines, curves and basic polygons. You can add, subtract and manipulate them in a variety of ways to end up with the design you want. In other software, you may create full 3-dimensional models using sketches, extrusions, sweeps, lofts, etc. In the end the goal from all of them is the same, to take your design and export it in a format suitable for laser cutting. That&#;s usually some format of 2D vector graphics file.
Laser control software is used to tell the laser how to cut out your design. That can include tool paths, how fast the laser moves, how much power it should output and when, what order to cut the lines, where and how to start and stop cuts on the lines (lead in and out), and so on. Typically the software does this by creating a g-code file, which is just a list of simple machine commands that the machine can interpret and follow.
If you&#;re planning to have SendCutSend cut your parts for you, we take care of this part on our end so you can just focus on the design. If you have your own laser, it may have its own software or you may have to find a compatible one. Even though most CNC style machines use some type of g-code to operate, not all g-code is compatible with all machines.
For software that doesn&#;t have the capability of creating the design, you want to be able to import your designs from whatever software you&#;re using. Make sure the formats your design software can export align with the formats your g-code software can import. As mentioned above, SendCutSend requires .dxf, .dwg, .ai, or .eps formats. Some g-code software can only accept vector files, some will also accept raster files like bitmap images made up of pixels.
It&#;s important that your software and your hardware are compatible. We&#;ve provided guidelines and acceptable file formats if we&#;re doing the cutting for you. For your laser it&#;s usually safe to stick with the software the manufacturer suggests or find one you prefer that&#;s compatible. Most machines that read g-code require it to be written in a certain way. Some machines can&#;t understand certain commands or need specific information at the beginning or end of the g-code file to function correctly.
Beyond exporting in the proper formats, the requirements for any software should be based on your specific needs. Certain software will be better at certain tasks than others. A software you&#;re already familiar with may be the best choice for you, even if it isn&#;t the best for someone else. Also consider the types of projects you&#;ll be designing. Just because one software can do both design and g-code, doesn&#;t mean it&#;s good at both.
Adobe Illustrator (AI) is a well respected vector-based software which has been considered an industry leader for decades. If you are in graphic or industrial design, you will be well aware of AI.
This software is an excellent choice for laser-cutting design given its robust features, stable nature, and support from one of the world&#;s biggest software companies, Adobe. Plugins are available to take the designs and turn them into the g-code needed to run the laser.
For hobbyists and small businesses, it can be on the expensive side. To use AI you need to pay a subscription fee, rather than purchasing a single license. This cost is hard to justify unless you are creating new designs regularly and generating income from them.
In saying that, most professional designers use Illustrator as their choice of vector design software.
To learn more about using Illustrator to design for laser cutting, check out these resources.
Inkscape is a free, open-source version of Adobe Illustrator. There&#;s nothing you can do in Illustrator that you can&#;t do in Inkscape, it may just be a little more complicated. Millions and millions of dollars have gone into fine-tuning and adjusting the user interface and experience of Adobe Illustrator, whereas Inkscape has had to rely solely on developers and volunteer feedback.
The major advantage of Inkscape is that it&#;s free. But there are other reasons to use it. For example, there&#;s a large community involved in using the tool, where you can get help and tutorials. The community has also developed plugins to turn Inkscape designs into g-code files.
Professional designers are usually going to use Illustrator rather than Inkscape, but that isn&#;t universal. There are many professionals who operate solely on open-source platforms.
To learn more about using Inkscape to design for laser cutting, check out these resources.
Lightburn is an extremely popular software for laser cutting. It&#;s great for beginners with lasers at home and many businesses that use laser cutters. Many CO2 lasers ship with a license for LightBurn. The design side of LightBurn can be somewhat basic compared to the other options here, but if it&#;s enough to get you what you need, LightBurn is an excellent option. LightBurn can import files to turn into g-code if you have another software you prefer to design in.
Built specifically to control lasers, LaserGRBL is a free laser control software for Windows. It&#;s a much simpler interface, but has a limited feature set. What makes it different from the others listed here is that it is meant to control a laser directly. Rather than exporting a g-code file for your laser, LaserGRBL runs on a computer that is connected directly to the laser.
Unlike LightBurn, the design side of Fusion 360 is excellent, allowing full 3D modeling, sheet metal tools and much more. Fusion 360 has built-in manufacturing tools that will let you take your designs and create the g-code files needed by your machine directly in one package. As a bonus, Fusion 360 can also handle milling, turning, plasma cutting, water jet cutting, laser cutting and more. If you do a lot of fabrication and want one software that can do it all, check out Fusion 360. If you want to send your files out to be laser cut, Fusion 360 can export the appropriate file formats too.
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We&#;ve combined a handful of professional CAD/CAM software packages into one here. They all fall on the expensive end of this list, with capabilities that are often beyond the needs of most users. If you need more advanced capabilities, these could be worth looking into. CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) software tends to be used for more than just laser cutting, capable of creating g-code for all sorts of CNC manufacturing processes.
If you are using SolidWorks or newer, check out our SolidWorks Plugin. You can upload to SendCutSend and get live quotes without ever leaving SolidWorks.
SoftwareCostDesign for Laser CuttingCan Export G-Code?Export for SendCutSend?Illustrator$$Awith pluginsYes!InkscapefreeB+with pluginsYes!LightBurn$C-YesYes!LaserGRBLfreen/aYesNoFusion 360$$$AYesYes!Professional CAM$$$$A+YesYes!There&#;s no single answer to this question. Because laser cutting is typically a 2-dimensional process, the software usually needs to be a 2D image. Vector formats are the most common since they can easily be translated into straight and curved line movements for the machine to follow. But some software has the ability to import raster type images like .bmp, .jpg, .png for laser engraving. Some software has the capability of converting a raster into a vector (though not always the way you want).
You can learn more about the different file types used in designing and cutting with lasers in this blog article: What is a Vector File? For sending your designs to SendCutSend, use file formats .dxf, .dwg, .ai or .eps.
The best laser cutting software is the one that works best for you.
Try to leverage what you already know. If you have experience with something like Illustrator, look into the plugins that will allow you to turn your designs into g-code from there. For users with CAD experience, something like Fusion 360 might be a good choice.
For those of you just getting started with no experience to rely on, you might want to try out a few different options to see which you like. We&#;d advise you to not get stuck on just one option though. Sometimes it&#;s easy to stick with something because you&#;re familiar with it and miss out on a better option. Look for options with available tutorials and resources you can lean on if you need help.
There is no universally &#;perfect&#; laser cutting software because different people like different methods of working. Some people think Inkscape&#;s experience is better, while others lean towards Illustrator. Your best bet is to try out multiple options before you settle on one.
Contact us to discuss your requirements of laser cutting machine software. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.