Laser Cut Photo Puzzle.
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This double sided laser cut custom puzzle gift was just the project to become more comfortable with drawing in AI after years of Adobe Photoshop.
Side one was a photo from mammoth hot springs in Yellowstone NP and the other side was a lily pad covered pond also in the NP with the phrase "real love is bringing home burritos"
Supplies
Birch plywood 1/8 or 1/4" - cuts very cleanly, and makes for durable work
Masking tape- to help protect material from burn marks
Printable bumper sticker vinyl as used here for the color images or 2d art safe to lasercut
Laser cutter
DESIGN STAGE
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For this puzzle I downloaded vector file from Vecteezy and customized the lines to have several pieces become a friend's favorite symbol. Each custom puzzle is a delightful challenge balancing durability, usability for client needs and good design work. I have also done puzzles with a family name as pieces and ultra simple puzzles for client's partners.
Be mindful of your layers going to print. If you decide to etch a raster for your design ( instead of printing a photograph) make sure it is set to center and hairline width.
In this puzzle I chose to draw in the final rectangle board in the retina engrave software.
PLANNING FOR THE PRINTING/CUTTING
-Choose your dimensions for the final puzzle.
-Choose placement on the board, do you need to nest other work on there? Did you leave room to a test cutting area on your material?
-If you are new to laser cutting or lining up work feel free to create a boarder around your photography or intentionally print it slightly larger than the final wooden surface.
Downloads
DECORATE! AND MASKOFF
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-Decorate your plywood with printed photography or drawn art
-Take note of the average dimensions of each puzzle piece. try to over lap tape making it easier to peel later , thinks 1-2" strips instead of large sheets of tape.
-Masking tape your print
* The masking tape helps prevent burn marks from showing up on your room or on a printed photograph at the edges of the cut pieces. It is not essential but can be helpful for a clean look depending on what material used for the image,
- The image on the left if from my first time making a puzzle where I didn't overlap my tape enough.
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-Test your laser cutter for proper speed and power to create a cut all the way through with out burning. Take note if you are on a less frequently maintained laser cutter to do a test in the furthers corners of large puzzles.
- Align your start points (origins) and run the job.
When completed consider gently lifting a puzzle piece to make sure it cut all the way through before you lift everything... I've been there. ( lion photo to show how a laser might be ever so slightly underpowered in settings and didn't cut through everything.)
- Remove your tape
- Enjoy