Frequently asked questions
Why is Laser.alashed.kz so «busy»?
First, Laser.alashed.kz exposes more parameters than most well-known box generators. These parameters have to be displayed somewhere.
The real reason is a matter of philosophy. Laser.alashed.kz deliberately chose not to «hard-code» most values but to surface them in the UI. Reasonable defaults are used. Most settings don’t need to be touched.
Совет
A beginner can safely leave the edge settings collapsed. It is enough to enter the overall dimensions, the material thickness and the burn value (kerf).
Can I sell boxes made with Laser.alashed.kz?
Yes. Laser.alashed.kz is distributed under the GPLv3 license (see https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html). This license grants broad rights to use the program and the drawings it produces for any purpose. The license also imposes obligations, but they concern modification and redistribution of the program itself. The GPL license does not extend to the resulting drawings.
Can I sell files generated by Laser.alashed.kz?
Yes, but… The license allows it. However, selling ready-made files that anyone can get for free is, in our view, deceptive and possibly fraudulent. It is a very different matter if you customize the drawing (for example, by adding decoration) and tell the buyer that the drawing is based on Laser.alashed.kz. That way the buyer understands what exactly they are paying for.
Why do my parts not fit together?
It might be a bug in Laser.alashed.kz, but there are more likely reasons — check those first:
Предупреждение
The material thickness differs from what you entered. Measure it at least with calipers. Even a few hundredths of a millimeter is the difference between a loose fit, a light press fit, a tight fit, or no fit at all.
You may have chosen too large a burn value. Since it compensates for the material burned away by the laser, smaller values give a looser fit, larger values a tighter one. The correct value depends on the material and its thickness.
Why did the box turn out a little larger / smaller than needed?
By default all sizes are internal. The box is bigger on the outside: the walls have to fit somewhere too. Some generators have an outside parameter that includes the walls in the specified dimensions.
Важно
Before firing up the laser cutter, it’s worth sanity-checking the generated parts.
Why did my parts come out the completely wrong size?
Unfortunately some formats don’t store units of measurement or store them incorrectly. This applies to DXF and SVG. As a result, different programs may see the same file at different sizes.
Совет
Use the reference parameter to obtain a rectangle of a known size and verify that the sizes are preserved all the way through the tool chain.
Why do small strange loops appear in the corners?
They are called dog bones and they guarantee that the corner is fully cut through. Since lasers and routers have a round cross-section, they cannot cut sharp internal corners.
How do I get rid of those loops?
Set the default setting inner_corners to corner.
What settings were used to generate this drawing?
If you have an SVG, PostScript or LightBurn file, look at its metadata. Most document viewers have a Document properties window. For LightBurn, look at the document notes. You can also open the file in a text editor and find the parameters in the first lines or by searching for «URL».
Примечание
The URL from the metadata can be used to return to the settings page and change the values. The difference between the settings page and the rendered drawing is just render=0 or render=1 at the end of the URL.
For other formats you’ll have to do without this. But you can save the URL you downloaded the file from — it contains all the settings.