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Using Inkscape to design for laser cutting

Download laser_cheat_sheet.pdf

To compile the cheat sheet with pandoc:

pandoc --pdf-engine xelatex laser_cheat_sheet.md -o laser_cheat_sheet.pdf

This is the file "laser_cheat_sheet.md":

---
theme: default
colortheme: default
mainfont: DejaVu Sans
geometry: "margin=2cm"
...

\pagenumbering{gobble}

# Inkscape Laser Cutting Cheat Sheet

\small

### Setting up document properties and preferences

Press **Ctrl + shift+ D** to open Document Properties...

1. Display units: *mm*
2. Page size: *600 x 300 mm*
3. Show Border shadow: *No*
4. Border colour: *green* (or any colour other than black / grey)

Press **Ctrl + shift + P** to open Preferences...

5. Bounding box to use: *Geometric bounding box*

From the **View** menu...

6. Select *Display Mode > Outline*

### For predictable laser cutting results...

Ensure all objects are **paths** with the following properties:

- Fill: **No paint**
- Stroke paint: **Flat colour**, pure black, 0% blur, 100% opacity
- Stroke style: **Width 0.01 mm**
- All objects in a single layer
- No objects in groups

Press **Ctrl + A** and look at the status bar to see what object types are in the drawing.

### Most useful tools / concepts for laser cutting

- **S** : Select tool
- **N** : Node tool - position node(s)
- **B** : Bezier tool - draw paths using Bezier curves and straight lines
- **E** : Ellipse tool - draw circles, arcs, ellipses, etc.
- **R** : Rectangle tool - draw rectangles, squares
- **M** : Measurement tool - measure distances and angles
- **Ctrl + Shift + A** : Alignment tools
- **Ctrl + Shift + F** : Fill and Stroke properties
- To position selected objects, use the toolbar edit boxes for **X, Y, W, H**.
- The toolbar edit boxes for X, Y, W, H accept **arithmetic expressions**, e.g. “175+12.5” or “25.6\*2”.
- Combine paths to create complex shapes - **union, difference, intersection, etc.** (see **path** menu).

### Selecting objects / nodes

- Press **S** to enter select mode.
- **Click** on an object / node to select it.
- Hold down **Shift** to select multiple objects / nodes.
- Click and **drag a box** around objects / nodes to select them.

### Keyboard shortcuts

- **Arrow keys** : Move selected object(s) up/down/left/right
- **Ctrl + Arrow keys** : Pan canvas up/down/left/right
- **+/-** : Zoom in/out
- **Ctrl + D** : Duplicate selected object(s)
- **Ctrl + G** : Group selected objects
- **Ctrl + Shift + G** : Ungroup selected objects
- **Ctrl + A** : Select all objects in current layer

\tiny
Ted Burke 13-Dec-2022 https://tedz.eu/uploads/laser_cheat_sheet.pdf