

The first step is to import the picture that you want to engrave onto an object.

Homing: The Homing option lets you start from a homed zero (the laser head goes to the K40 zero position and limit switches are activated) so Gerbil knows its absolute zero point.

Most options within the cutting extension are self explanatory. Now you can select the K40 Laser cutting tool via the top menu (extension, k40 laser cutting tool) and generate the g-code file and/or stream it to Gerbil. You can use Shift+Ctrl+C to convert the Object to Path. After selecting the circle for cutting as depicted above (dotted square appears), you need to obtain the path of the vector drawing (here a our circle we draw before) so Inkscape can convert that path (segments of the circle with coordinates) into G-code. You can use the ‘Fill and Stroke” menu (Shift +Ctrl+F) to set the stroke style /pen size to 0.15mm (the laser kerf) and set ‘Fill’ to none (x) so you only cut the circle outline. Use the tool bar ribbon and select the icon with the two triangles as depicted below. It’s not relevant for cutting a circle, but when you move to more exotic shapes – if the shape you need to laser-cut is not symmetrical and cannot be a mirror image (turn it over after cutting) then you need to mirror it using Inkscape. To set the document size to A4 use shift+Ctrl+D. To draw a circle select the circle from the toolbar on the left. The 0,0 coordinates in inkscape are left down corner while in the K40 they are left upper corner as depicted below. So for K40, set the document properties to A4 landscape. The work space for the K40 is A4 or slightly bigger. Draw a square or circle on the canvas where the canvas represent the workspace.
