How to Use a Glowforge Laser

This instructable will go over the basics on how to use a Glowforge laser and laser software.

-Glowforge Laser

-Cherry Plywood(or any wood you want)

-A file that you want to laser cut (DXF, SVG, or an image file)

The Glowforge Website is where you will be creating all your projects and setting them to go off to the laser. The website is also a great place to see other design and purchase other Glowforge products.

In the upper left corner there will be a dropdown that will allow you to start a design or upload one. For this project I uploaded a design that I got off the internet. Glowforge offers some free designs on their website, there are also some one you must pay for. The file you use must be either a DXF file or a SVG file, you can also use most image files. If you are designing your own, try Inkscape or Lightburn and then save as DXF or SVG.

In this menu you can set your design directly onto the wood in your background this is helpful for precise cuts and for using all the wood. Decide if you want to engrave it or cut it. The difference between cutting and engraving is that cutting is meant to go all the way through the material and is a straight line, while engraving is meant to cut through some of the wood and fills in the selected area. You also can set the cut settings, the speed, and the power. For most materials, there is a recommended setting, here is recommended settings for most woods. However, if you bought material from Glowforge there will be a QR code that the camera reads and auto-sets the settings.

When you are ready to start your cut click the ready button in the top right and send it off to the laser. when you send it you will then have to go to your laser and hit the blinking button to start it.

When your laser cutter is done take out your design and done, congratulations. Here is a spin-able coaster that I made using the Glowforge.