Show your maker side this holiday season

Show your MAKER side and enter for a chance to win some great gifts this holiday season.

Here is a quick guide to get started on making your own ornaments. Submit your finished project pictures for a chance to win prizes (Learn More).

The SainSmart designs are multi-layered “3D” ornaments. You can download DXF & SVG files that consist of six different layers to be glued together upon completion. Alternatively, you can create a simplified version by combining all layers and laser engraving a “flat” version.

Example of 3D ornament

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Choose Your Way to Create - CNC Milling or LASER

Using Easel

Start a “New Project” in Easel and import the design. You can download the SVG files for the ornaments here. To import, select “Import” from the bottom left of the Easel toolbar and choose SVG after clicking the link.

Hint: If you want to create custom designs, check out this easy-to-follow guide on Instructables. You can import the design directly to Easel and customize it yourself! Custom Ornament Template

Step 1: Open the Template and Add Your Text

Click the “Open in Easel” button to get the ornament template. Copy the template to your projects and name your new file.

Use the text tool to select a font and add your desired text.

Adding text to the template

Text tool in Easel

Step 2: Xploder App

To make the text usable, we will use the “Xploder” app, which turns text into shapes for easier movement. Highlight the text, click Apps, and select “Xploder.”

You do not need to adjust the “gap” setting; simply click import. Once imported, delete the original text. Now, move the different sections of text to arrange them in a circular shape as desired.

You can also use icons or image import to add other elements to the design.

Overlap your text, images, and ornament outline as fills until you are satisfied with the design. It’s often easier to design with fills and change to outlines later.

Designing with Xploder Step 2: Arranging elements

Step 3: Combine

Once you have the overlapping elements arranged, highlight everything, ensure they are a filled shape, and click “Edit” then “Combine.”

This will merge the overlapping individual elements into one shape!

After combining, change the “fill” setting to “outline” and “outside.”

Combining elements Step 3: Combined design

Step 4: Select a Material and Bit

Now that your design is complete, select the material and bit you would like to use. I recommend the 1/6" upcut fish tail bit for blue collar and glitter acrylics.

Make sure to:

Change the bit in Easel.
Change the material in Easel.
Adjust the material dimensions in Easel.

Changing these settings will affect how your project is cut out. I also recommend using double-sided tape to secure the material to the waste board to avoid using tabs. You can disable tabs in the shape panel.

Selecting material and bit Step 4: Material selection

Material setup Step 4: Material dimensions

Finalizing material setup Material secured

Step 5: Simulate and Carve

Click the “Simulate” button to ensure your project will cut as expected. If you see red, don’t panic; those areas won’t cut. You can either enlarge the design or, if satisfied with the simulation, ignore the red areas.

After making any final adjustments, you are ready to carve!

Step 6: Share Your Creation! <Share your works>

Using LaserGRBL

We recommend using a laser module with an “Air Assist” system installed for maximum cutting power. The SainSmart LC-60 comes with an air assist system pre-installed, making it perfect for laser cutting designs quickly.

Step 1: Importing Your Design

Import your design by selecting “File” and then “Open,” or simply drag and drop your Vector (SVG) design into the program.

Importing design in LaserGRBL

Step 2: Selecting Material and Laser Power Settings

At this stage, input your ‘Cut’ settings based on the material type and thickness. For cutting, use CONSTANT POWER. For engraving, set to Dynamic Power and change the “S-Min” variable to 10.

For this project, we will use 3mm Basswood plywood. A safe and slow setting of 160 mm/sec at 100% power with air assist enabled will allow you to cut in one pass.

Step 3: Position Your Design

Home your machine by selecting the “HOME” icon, which resembles a house on the bottom toolbar.

Homing the machine

Step 4: Trace Your Design

To ensure your design is properly positioned on your material, install a custom button for a low-power laser trace of your design area. This will show you how much area you need and where the machine will operate.

To install this custom button, download the “Frame Project” button from this link. Import it directly into LaserGRBL by right-clicking in the custom button area, selecting “Import Custom Buttons,” and choosing the FrameProject.gz file you just downloaded. Click “Yes” to the pop-up window that follows.

The button is now installed and ready to use!

Installing custom button

Step 5: Focus Your Laser

Now that your material is positioned, focus your laser. Depending on your laser machine model, the Jinsoku series are “Fixed” Focus, requiring Z-axis height adjustments. Follow your machine's instructions for proper focus. To aid this step, enable the “FOCUS” button in LaserGRBL to fire a soft, weak laser, making it easy to see the focal point. You want the laser head to be as small as possible on your material.

Focusing the laser

Step 6: Cut Your Design and Share

Now that you're all set, run your program and let the magic begin. Send your finished designs to us for a chance to win great prizes!

Ornament Sample with Light Burn

We created a sample ornament using 2mm MDF board with our laser machine LC-60A. The integrated air-assist system provides clean and clear outlines of the components. Here are the laser settings in LightBurn V1.0, finishing with pattern lasering first, followed by cutting out the components.

Sample ornament with light burn