Creating tab holder to cut parts

LightBurn Software Questions
1

I am unsure how to create little tabs to laser cut parts so that the parts do not fall out of the finished balsa sheet.

For example I will like to cut all ribs into a sheet of balsa, but keep them from coming loose from the material. The end user to simply cut the little tabs and the part will come free.

Is there a way to do that to vectors in lightburn?

2

You can use perforation mode in the cut settings, and set a long cut value with a short skip value.

Skip ahead to the 6 minute mark:

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3

Thank you very much for that.

4

I see the perforation mode which would be perfect for card or paper. However if I want to simply add 2 tabs per part to keep it in place, is there a setting where I can let the software decide where to leave 2 tabs where it will skip cutting without working out the length of the total cut and adding skips that way?

5

Not at this time, no. Generally you would want more tabs on a larger piece, so setting a 0.5mm tab per 100mm is workable, and if a part is too short, LightBurn will make sure that the tab is emitted first, instead of last. I am planning to have a “tab layer” where you can draw small circles or boxes onto your parts where you don’t want them cut, but that’s still to come.

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6

So in the perforation setting I set to cut 100mm and skip maybe 2mm to create 2mm tabs to the cut part? If so this works fine for what I want to do.

If I import a nested set of cut parts will this perforation setting simply apply to the complete set of parts?

7

These tabs are also known as “bridges”. LightBurn currently does not have this in the way you are thinking but it has been discussed. You can provide support for a “bridge” feature on our voting site.

You can however, build your desired tabs/bridges into your existing artwork using the ‘Boolean Subtract’ tool discussed in this video. ( good example about 5 mins in)

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8

Thank you Rick. I did see the boolean video a few weeks back and enjoyed seeing how it works in the software.

So based on the boolean, I would simply import my nested design, draw rectangles where I need then then perform the boolean command to create that tab/bridge manually?

If so this sounds fine for manual insertion of them.

I will take another look at this video as well as the perforation option if it takes care of the complete nested parts on the cutting sheet.

Thank you.