Cut files need one colour and calm, even outlines, so here the tracer starts on Black and white at Smooth, with Download DXF as the main button and a width of 100 mm. Drop a PNG or JPG, check the trace against the original, set the width you want to cut, and download the DXF.
From picture to cut file
- Start from high-contrast art: a logo, a silhouette, lettering or a drawing. Photos don’t make good cut files; trace a silhouette of the subject instead.
- Adjust the threshold until every part you want to cut is solid black in the preview. The laser follows the outlines of the black: cutting out shapes, the black pieces are what you keep; cutting a stencil, the black is what falls away and the sheet around it stays, which is what Add bridges is for.
- Pick the smoothness. Smooth gives the laser long, clean curves and removes specks that would become tiny pieces. Use Detailed for fine lettering.
- Set the width in millimetres. The height follows from the image’s proportions and is shown next to the field.
- Download DXF and import it into your laser software or CAD program, choosing millimetres if it asks.
What is in the file
The DXF is an AutoCAD R12 file with one closed POLYLINE per outline on a layer named CUT, in millimetres with the y axis pointing up, as CAD expects. Curves become short straight segments that stay within 0.02 mm of the traced curve. The same trace downloads as an SVG too, for programs that prefer it; an SVG keeps real curves but its size is in pixels, so set the size again after importing it.
Before cutting expensive material, run the file once on cardboard or at low power: check that small islands are held, that thin parts are wider than your kerf, and that the size is right. The traced outlines follow the pixels of your image, so a sharp, high-resolution original gives the most accurate cut.