Laser engraving/cutting is a picky business. Although it sounds simple to cut materials by using a focused beam, guiding the laser in a controlled manner requires strict software guidance. For laser engraving/cutting projects, you need to use vector files. These define the lines, points, curves and shapes to be followed by the laser cutting machine. The right laser cutting software allows you to get ideas from the machine and use it to create harmonious things.
Depending on the brand and type of controller in your machine, you can use a variety of software. However, before we further understand, we need to distinguish between laser design software and laser control software. They are usually used in pairs, but they are designed to do different things. Laser design software is used to create graphics, which can be cut on the laser cutting machine in the future. CorelDRAW, Inkscape and Adobe Illustrator are among the most popular products. Laser control software (called cam in the CNC world) is used to convert graphic design into a set of commands, which can be understood by the laser controller and then converted into a coordinate list.
The following is a list of the most commonly used laser software for laser cutting. We made a simple comparison to show its advantages and shortcomings.
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