Edge Lights Tutorial Designing the Panels

First, it’s a good idea to verify that your digital canvas (workspace) is the same as the size of acrylic you are cutting. TIPS: Stay within the boundaries of your material during the design process so you don’t have problems later on when engraving and cutting.

Create or limit your design to three colors Create or limit your design to three colors. Separate your three colors on to individual layers. TIPS: It is useful to label the layers front, mid, and back. It’s also useful to include the color in the name. Examples: “Front Layer (white)” “Mid Layer (yellow)” “Back Layer (red)”

If you were to physically separate your layers based on color they would look like the picture below. We only show this for illustration purposes. Keep all your designs together so everything lines up nicely. TIPS: Use your layer views in your graphics software to see individual layers. Original Graphic Front Layer (white) Mid Layer (yellow) Back Layer (red)

Make a new layer (4th layer) for your cutout design that represents the physical shape of the piece. Set the cutline/stroke to .001 inch width or check with your laser vendor for specific cutline settings. This will be your ‘vector’ layer for cutting. TIPS: Avoid sharp angles and ‘holes’ in your cutline which may interrupt the flow of light throughout your piece. Cutout Line

Select all the graphics on your front layer “Front Layer (white)” and change their color to Black. TIPS: Use grayscale in cases where the color is not solid.

Next, select all the graphics on your middle layer “Mid Layer (yellow)” and change their color to Black. TIPS: “Grouping” the same colors together can help speed up the process of changing the color to black.

Next, select all the graphics on your back layer “Back Layer (red)” and change their color to Black. TIPS: By changing the design colors to black, you are ensuring that the laser will etch them with enough depth to have the accurate color “absorbed” from the lights in the base.

Flip the design backwards to create backside printing Flip the design backwards to create backside printing. Backside printing (etching) will cut down on any mirroring your piece might have and it will also create more depth to your final product. TIPS: Mirroring occurs when you can see a faint mirrored image of your design reflected in the acrylic.

Connect the Laser’s Edge ‘base template’ to the bottom of the cutout shape of your design. Resize your design to fit with the ‘base template’. TIPS: Be sure to NOT resize the piece after this step. Doing so will make the pins either too tight or too loose. Resize this to fit base Don’t resize this

Reposition the design so that the cutout shape can be merged/welded to the ‘base template’ shape without any gaps. It should look something like the image below. TIPS: Again – do not resize the ‘base template’ provide by Laser’s Edge. This is properly sized for pinning the pieces together and fitting properly in the base.

Now merge/weld the cutout shape with the ‘base template’ to make them one shape. Make sure the pin holes are still located on the bottom corners of the new merged cutout shape. It’s a good idea to double check the line (stroke) width at this point to make sure it’s compatible with your laser’s vector cutting settings. TIPS: Your edge light design is now complete and ready for the laser!

To avoid waste, be sure to position your design on your digital canvas (workspace) to maximize your material usage. Your design is now complete and ready for engraving. TIPS: Be sure to check out our other training modules.