Create a laser cut
board game

Step by step guide

Preparation

Required material:

Game Board:
50 x 50 cm TroLase walnut/white1.6mm
Acrylic (red, blue, yellow, green) 0.8mm - adhesive tape on back side
Figures:
Acrylic (red, blue, yellow, green) 3.2mm
Stickers:
TroLase lights gold/black 0.1mm

Used Trotec Laser:

Speedy 360
80 watts
2 inch lens

Tip:

white acrylic grating table

Step by Step

Step 1: Board

First decide what size board you would like. We are using 50x50 cm pre-cut acrylic for our extra-large board game but you can adapt the size to your preferred measurements and send the file to the laser.

Tip:

For the best results and to minimise cleaning, the board should be engraved from the bottom to top.

Step 2: colorful dots for the starting area

Cut five circles per color from 0.8mm acrylic to indicate the players areas.
For best results, we recommend using the white acrylic-cutting-grid, leaving the protective foil on the material during the cutting process. You can purchase the acrylic from Trotec with an adhesive film already applied to the back, then you simply have to put the circles on the appropriate places. Make sure the board is clean before you apply them.

Step 3: figures

Take the red, blue, yellow and green acrylic (3.2 mm) for the figures. Cut out the characters and the matching discs (standing feet) per color and plug them together.
Again, it is important to leave the protective foil on the material during the cutting process for a brilliant cutting edge.

Step 4: decoration

We used some stickers to make the game board look less empty and more fun and colourful. We engraved TroLase Lights and used our Kiss Cut parameters to cut partially into the material. Only the adhesive film is cut and the support material remains unblemished. Then the sticker can be removed easily. It is again important to also engrave the stickers from the bottom to the top (see step1).

Step 5: Laser parameters

We worked with a Speedy 360 with 80 watts power and the parameters listed below. You can download the JobControl files and import them easily into your parameters database (see download area below).

Board - TroLase 1.6 mm

Engraving: power: 80% - speed: 100% - frequency: 500 ppi - air assist: ON - Z-Offset: 1.5 mm
For best engraving results, we've activated the "high quality" function and set 1.5mm Z-Offset.

Dots - Acrylic 0.8 mm

Cutting: power: 33% - speed: 1.2% - frequency: 1.000 Hz - air assist: ON

Figures - Acrylic 3.2 mm

Cutting: power: 45% - speed: 0.4% - frequency: 1.000 Hz - air assist: ON -
Z-Offset: -0.6 mm
Here we also worked with 0.6mm Z-Offset for a smoother engraving.

Sticker - TroLase Lights 0.1 mmticker - troLase Lights 0.1 mm

Engrving: power: 35% - speed: 50% - frequency: 500 ppi - air assist: ON - Z-Offset: 2 mm
Cutting: power: 20% - speed: 2 % - frequency: 1.000 Hz - air assist: ON
KissCut: power: 8% - speed: 2% - frequency: 1.000 Hz - air assist: ON
We also recommend that you activate the "high quality" function. The laser process takes more time, but the perfect result is worth it.