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Laser Cut Silhouette
Follow this tutorial to learn how to create your own paper silhouette artwork. These finished pieces make great gifts and decorations.
Preparation
Required Material:
- 1 Sheet Laser Paper Orange-Red
- 1 Sheet Laser Paper Slate Gray + self adhesive
- 1 Sheet Laser Paper Blue + self adhesive
- 1 Sheet Laser Paper Dark Blue + self adhesive
- 1 Sheet Laser Paper Black + self adhesive
- Covering material
Machines Used:
- Speedy 360, 80 Watt
- 1.5" lens
- Honeycomb vacuum table
We used a Speedy 360 laser engraver for ours, but you can create this piece using any of the laser machines in the Speedy laser engraver series.
Tip:
We used the 1.5" lens, because we wanted to make very delicate and detailed cuts.
Step by Step
Step 1: Design
Import the graphics and adapt the design as you wish to create your own unique silhouette. Then send the 5 various graphics to your Trotec laser machine with the following settings:
| Process mode | Resolution | Cut line |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 500dpi | none |
| Halftone | Others |
|---|---|
| color | Enhanced geometries, Inner Geometries first |
Step 2: Laser Process the Paper
Arrange the colored paper sheets in order, according to your design, and then lay them in the your Trotec laser machine. Cover the rest of the working surface to get a strong vacuum. The laser parameters can vary depending on the laser machine you're using and the available laser power.
Laser Parameters: Engraving
| Black | Engrave CO2 | 40 | 70 | 500 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Color | Process | Power % | Speed % | ppi/Hz |
| 1 | ON | 0mm | High Quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passes | Air Assist | Z-offset | Advanced |
Laser Parameters: Cutting
| Color | Process | Power % | Speed % | ppi/Hz |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red | Cut CO2 | 15 | 1 | 1,000 |
| Passes | Air Assist | Z-offset | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ON | 0mm | - |
Step 3: Assembly
Select a color for the backing plate, and then place the colored sheets in order, based on your design. If you're using our design, take the orange rectangle as a backing plate, and then stick the remaining colors in the following order:
- Slate grey
- Blue
- Dark blue
- Black as finishing
Trotec Materials
Try our tested Laser Paper for your applications. Like all our laserable materials, LaserPaper was developed specifically for laser processing. This means you can achieve the highest contrast with the laser machine, with a clean cut mark from laser cutting. This quality paper, which is available in a variety of different colors, can be used in many applications such as invitations, brochures, business cards, greeting cards and much more.
Inspiration
- Cut spacers from thin TroLase ADA, and stick them between the individual paper sheets. This adds additional depth and dimension to the final piece.
- Replace the orange base plate with white LaserPaper Synthetic, so you can stand the picture in front of a lamp and illuminate it.
- Depending on the motif, you can use the laser cut silhouette as a gift card.
