laser-cutter

LaserCutter

LaserCutter is a ruby library for generating PDF designs for boxes of custom dimensions that suit your project, that are meant to be used as a cut template on a laser-cutter. The sides of the box snap together using alternating notches, that are deliberately laid out in a symmetric form.

To use laser-cutter you need to have a recent version of ruby interpreter, install it as a gem, and use command line to generate PDFs.

MakeABox.IO is an online web application that uses laser-cutter library and provides a straight-forward user interface for generating PDF designs without the need to install the gem or use command line.

Use whatever suites you better.

NOTE: Please read our feature comparison guide of LaserCutter against an older tool called BoxMaker.

Dependencies

The gem depends primarily on Prawn – a fantastic PDF generation library.

Installation

Add this line to your application's Gemfile:

gem 'laser-cutter'

And then execute:

$ bundle

Or install it manually:

$ gem install laser-cutter

Usage

We'll start with some examples:

Examples

Create a box defined in inches, with kerf (cut width) set to 0.005in, and open PDF in preview right after:

    laser-cutter -z 3x2x2/0.125 -k 0.005 -O -o box.pdf

Create a box defined in millimeters, print verbose info, and set page size to A3, and layout to landscape, and stroke width to 1/2mm:

    laser-cutter -u mm -w70 -h20 -d50 -t4.3 -n5 -iA3 -l landscape -s0.5 -v -O -o box.pdf

List all possible page sizes in metric system:

    laser-cutter -L -u mm

Create a box with provided dimensions, and save the config to a file for later use:

    laser-cutter -z 1.1x2.5x1.5/0.125/0.125 -p 0.1 -O -o box.pdf -W box-settings.json

Read settings from a previously saved file:

    laser-cutter -O -o box.pdf -R box-settings.json
    cat box-settings.json | laser-cutter -O -o box.pdf -R -

Complete Help

Usage: laser-cutter [options] -o filename.pdf
   eg: laser-cutter -z 1x1.5x2/0.125 -O -o box.pdf

Specific Options:
    -w, --width WIDTH                Internal width of the box
    -h, --height HEIGHT              Internal height of the box
    -d, --depth DEPTH                Internal depth of the box
    -t, --thickness THICKNESS        Thickness of the box material
    -n, --notch NOTCH                Optional notch length (aka "tab width"), guide only
    -k, --kerf KERF                  Kerf - cut width (default is 0.0024in)

    -m, --margin MARGIN              Margins from the edge of the document
    -p, --padding PADDING            Space between the boxes on the page
    -s, --stroke WIDTH               Numeric stroke width of the line
    -i, --page_size LETTER           Document page size, default is autofit the box.
    -l, --page_layout portrait       Page layout, other option is 'landscape'

    -O, --open                       Open generated file with system viewer before exiting
    -W, --write CONFIG_FILE          Save provided configuration to a file, use '-' for STDOUT
    -R, --read CONFIG_FILE           Read configuration from a file, or use '-' for STDIN

    -L, --list-all-page-sizes        Print all available page sizes with dimensions and exit
    -M, --no-metadata                Do not print box metadata on the PDF
    -v, --[no-]verbose               Run verbosely
    -B, --inside-box                 Draw the inside boxes (helpful to verify kerfing)
    -D, --debug                      Show full exception stack trace on error

        --examples                   Show detailed usage examples
        --help                       Show this message
        --version                    Show version

Common Options:
    -o, --file FILE                  Required output filename of the PDF
    -z, --size WxHxD/T[/N]           Combined internal dimensions: W = width, H = height,
                                     D = depth, T = thickness, and optional N = notch length

    -u, --units UNITS                Either 'in' for inches (default) or 'mm'

Wish List

• Create T-style joins, using various standard sizes of nuts and bolts (such as common #4-40 and M2 sizes)
• Extensibility with various layout strategies, notch drawing strategies, basically plug and play model for adding new algorithms for path creation and box joining
• Support more shapes than just box, such as prisms
• Supporting lids and front panels, that are larger than the box itself and have holes for notches.
• Your brilliant idea can be here too! Please see contributing for more info.

Contributing

1. Fork it ( https://github.com/kigster/laser-cutter/fork )
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b my-new-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -am 'Add some feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin my-new-feature)
5. Create a new Pull Request