Designing Laser Cut Structures with Adobe Illustrator

[@OldManRogers]

Wow, really well structured and helpful. I'm more of a wargamer (historical, scifi, fantasy) but the principals are basically the same!!

[@ThunderMesaStudio]

Thank you!

[@anthonynewman1601]

This is a great tutorial. I watched it a couple times to get my feet underneath me and jumped in at my local maker space with a laser cutter. Follow the instructions and came out great thanks for all the resources and help.

[@ThunderMesaStudio]

Thank you so much. Very glad you found it useful!

[@jascogoods]

Great video, thank you

[@SteveSRT]

That was awesome. I’ve never used illustrator before and am trying to learn. Your video has some of the best explanations I’ve seen from laser people yet and was easy to follow along. Thanks for sharing.

[@jeffgoldenberg9579]

Great tutorial. I can hack my way through Photoshop so I think Illustrator should not be too difficult insofar as learning the basics. Now, to get a laser cutter!

[@HouseofAndy]

I’ve just found my favourite KZbin channel

[@dkaustin98]

One of the things discussed in model railroading was the same building kits used over and over across many different layouts. People could name the kits. With the laser cutter you can design and build your buildings that nobody else will have on their layouts. I think I need to look into getting one for myself. I wonder if I can convince my wife to get me one for Christmas…..

[@chrislambert5249]

Good Luck....lol

[@tossedman]

Excellent tutorial sir! I've been messing about in Illustrator designing a laser cut engine shed. Love your layering techniques. I'm going to start using more of that.

[@bluesman285a]

Dave Thanks for this and the review of the Creality Falcon 2. I just received mine about to get started designing some new buildings. I must say your videos are inspirations to get me in the shop!!!! Keep it up love your work.

[@theodanielwollff]

Its interesting you say Red for cutting (CNC) and engraving as Blue. The place I use to work (100+ people) all did it the opposite. Another trick you can do when sending the file to someone is select the cut lines and make it a custom color. Name it Z-Cut. So when the person on the other end is prepping the file, they can select it all, change the color or name really fast. Save a lot of time for the prep department.

[@ThunderMesaStudio]

Did I say that? I may have misspoke if I did. I do use blue for cutting and red for engraving.

[@simonaddelsee4268]

Thank you, as a newby to designing stuff I found this really useful!!

[@jasonrackawack9369]

Thanks for this....been thinking of getting a laser at some point.

[@scottc3858]

Excellent video Dave. Super informative and very helpfull.

[@danakraemer8512]

Great concise tutorial.

[@Rini-D]

What a great tutorial. Thank you so much!!!

[@MicrobyteAlan]

Excellent thanks

[@djrobi61]

Great presentation! I've been using Inkscape and Draftsight for my laser cut designs and appreciate the techniques and various ways of laying out the pieces to form kits. Like the way you lay out double hung windows. I've doing this in HO scale. Make a huge difference in the reflaction offf the windows. Cutting the glazing from mylar sheets on the laser makes short work out of the final product. I have also engraved on the mylar using low power, high speeds settings allowing etched window signage and Victorian scrolling. I think you would have some fun with that. Happy Modeling! Don

[@sambitbanerjee]

Absolutely incredible video! Thanks for taking the time to make this. Could you possibly share the laser cutting files you created for the different buildings? I would be really grateful

[@JoeyBPhotography]

Great video, lots of great tips in here! I recently picked up a laser cutter for making my own HO scale structures, and it's been an absolute blast! I'm using Lightburn directly for creating my artwork, but I've been an Adobe user for decades, so it's nice to see tools like Illustrator being useful for creating physical end products! Your structures look great, too!

[@paulbottrill8391]

Very interesting tutorial.

[@CalebsRailFilms]

Interesting stuff. I’m currently modelling in 1:20.3 and 1:32/1:29 G scale for my garden railway. I’ve already got drawings to work from and I’m very familiar with the Adobe Creative Cloud suite as I work with a lot of the applications whilst practicing as a professional photographer and videographer. Thank you for taking the time to show us how to do this important process of railway modelling. A Happy New Year to you. Regards, Caleb

[@bonniehollingsworth1996]

Thank you!

[@ScottMiller_LRSafari]

What is the brand of that micro mitre saw? Loved it. Great episode. I am can't wait to see more of the town built.

[@caryhocker]

Thanks so much for doing this video, you just answered nearly all my questions at once. The final question is ... how much less expensive can I go on the laser cutter (than your very nice $5000+ machine), and still get reasonable results?

[@ThunderMesaStudio]

About $2500 less

[@pbyfr]

Very interesting, I learned several things, even if I use such tools since long from times to times. Inkscape is free and has the same features, and the recent versions finally support multi screen correctly. For the last two buildings I made, I draw them in Fusion 360, as it is easy to check everything in 3D, but even a tiny brick wall was killing Fusion 360, so next time I will try to first draw it in Inkscape, and only use the wall outline in Fusion. But I don't think that many building need the 3D check anyway.

[@Arterexius]

It's most likely your computer that didn't like the brick wall, rather than Fusion. I also use Fusion 360 for model work and I usually only start having problems once I exceed 200 bodies. Fusion, like all other CAD software, uses a lot of processing power. So if you get a powerful PC built, it will also be able to handle more demanding tasks from Fusion, as the CAD software just use the available power to do its calculations, so if the available processing power is limited, then so will the efficiency of Fusion and similar CAD be.

[@pbyfr]

@@Arterexius I have an old i7 4770, but as most software are mainly mono-thread for the main stuff, it isn't a lot slower than a new 13700 (which I have at work). And Fusion was clearly blocked in just one thread when I had trouble. Surely can Fusion handle more objects, but the way I created these bricks must not have been the good one. But I have very limited CAD experience, it is a lot easier for me to use Blender or Inkscape.

[@Arterexius]

@@pbyfr Looked it up and you're right, my apologies. I did though also find that Fusion can be set to using more cores and I've linked to Autodesks own how-to guide below. But if Blender is easier for you to use, then I wouldn't say you have limited CAD experience. Blender is notorious for having a steep learning curve and is usually not the first program people wanting to learn CAD goes to, when just starting out. People generally start with SketchUp, FreeCAD, ThinkerCAD, Microsoft 3D Builder or Fusion 360 and only move on to modelling software like Blender and Maya if they want to make more complex meshes that the basic CAD software can't handle. I'm in a lot of FB groups related to 3D printing and CAD design and I only see posts about learning Blender from beginners once or twice a year, so if you're proficient in Blender, then keep on using that. There's even a CAD extension to Blender, which I've also linked to Here's the links: www.autodesk.com/support/technical/article/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Fusion-360-does-not-utilize-all-of-the-CPU-and-cores-when-solving-local-simulations.html www.cadsketcher.com/

[@pbyfr]

@@Arterexius Thanks for the links. I saw something like that for Blender, but I didn't have the project for trying it yet. Sure, Blender is also very complex, but I have done models for self made video games with 3D Max in the past, so it was easy to switch to Blender, especially now that the UI is a lot better than before (when I tested it 20+ years ago on LInux, I needed to reset the PC, as I never found the close button or menu!). So for me working with vertices is very easy (at least I know how it should work when something goes wrong), but real CAD with parametric design use a different philosophy. And Fusion is even more different, as it want the 2D sketch first (co-workers who are using CREO told me that it isn't mandatory there). I should draw some locomotive chassis for a scratch build, I think that I will try the Blender CAD plugin first, even if I'm not sure of 3D printing via Shapeway or making the old way the body. Even without the CAD plugin, if being careful, it is possible to do some precise work with Blender, I done a sliding drilling rig with it, the printed parts needed very few sanding to slide nicely (well, it wasn't so good after painting).

[@sameribrahem1450]

hi there ir would u please make more of this tutorial?its brilliant

[@ThunderMesaStudio]

Thank you. What more would you like to see?

[@sameribrahem1450]

@@ThunderMesaStudio more how to create model house with adobe illustrator as i looked on youtube for long and so far your video is the best

[@spottedskunk]

Thanks Dave, that will help me a lot to get started with my new OMTech 40W CO2 Laser Engraver Cutter (I hope, LOL). Just have to finish getting it set up properly. Where do you get the laser board you use?

[@ThunderMesaStudio]

I order from a company called Encompass Media

[@spottedskunk]

@@ThunderMesaStudio Thanks Dave, I will check them out.

[@fedelerinaldi6720]

How do you stop the wood from warping, my 3mm ply goes in flat but once I score with brick texture, it warps the wood like crazy. Also which paint spray do you use? Thank you

[@ThunderMesaStudio]

I don't have much of a problem with warping, but then I do live in a place with very low humidity. When it has occurred, I wet the wood on both sides with clear water and then sandwich them between paper towels and heavy books.

[@fedelerinaldi6720]

@@ThunderMesaStudio humidity here good too, maybe I’m just scoring too deep into my 3mm plywood. MDF could be a better option as it doesn’t have grain! Thanks anyway

[@timothyboles6457]

wow, that really does act like a CAD program

[@maddysutherland3166]

Hey 🙂 I've got a Vevor CNC 3018, I'm trying to cut from illustrator, but I'm incredibly lost with it- I can't locate my laser cutter in Adobe's print settings! Do you know how to do this? Thank you!

[@ThunderMesaStudio]

I don't use Adobe's print settings for the laser. Laser cutters use their own driver software just like a printer. I don't know the correct driver for your machine, but it should just be a matter of uploading the .ai file directly to the driver. Just make sure it is saved in the proper format that your machine can read (.ai, swg, etc). Not every machine speaks Adobe.

[@jvanamb]

Dave, Does your laser cutter also cut thin metals such as tin, brass, or bronze? If so what brand do you use? I'll look into buying one. Stat. BTW I don't know where Jerome, AZ is located but next time I plan to visit my youngest daughter in Masa/Scottsdale I like to buy ya' some smoked eats. Love your stuff. Am copying you lit cavern for the new Disney (WDW) section of my layout rehab. Jim in N.Y.

[@ScottMiller_LRSafari]

He uses a CO2 laser. They are not for cutting metal. Cutting metal requires very high power, usually fiber lasers. You can etch and cut wood, acrylic and plastics, chipboard, etc. But you have to be careful, as some contain toxic chemicals when heated.

[@jvanamb]

@@ScottMiller_LRSafari Thank you.

[@kenlynch6332]

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