Kerf is the width of material removed along the cut path. A laser typically removes 0.1–0.3 mm depending on power, speed, lens and material. A blade on a craft cutter removes almost nothing.
Without compensation, every part comes out a little smaller and every hole a little larger than designed. For flat decorations this rarely matters; for finger joints and slots it decides the fit.
Measure your kerf
- Cut a 20 × 20 mm square from the material you will use, with your normal settings.
- Measure the square with calipers, for example 19.78 mm.
- Measure the hole it came out of, for example 20.22 mm.
- Kerf ≈ (hole − square) ÷ 2 = (20.22 − 19.78) ÷ 2 = 0.22 mm.
Enter it
Switch the studio to Advanced in the top bar. With nothing selected, open Fabrication in the right panel (laser processes), switch on Kerf comp. and type your Measured kerf. The Machine step of Generate files offers the same switch. Outer contours grow by half the kerf and holes shrink by half the kerf, so parts come out at the designed size.
The convention used
Compensated geometry follows the machine-centreline convention: the file describes where the centre of the beam travels. The package README and validation report state whether kerf was applied and by how much. Without compensation the check notes No kerf compensation applied, which is informational.
Ready to try it?
Open the studio