Starbase Jeff

Man, lots of 3D printing in tabletop gaming, but I haven't seen or heard a lot about laser cutting.

Anyone out there using a laser cutter to make board game pieces?

Can you cut cardstock/cardboard?

I'm looking at investing into a machine of some sort, but all my friends already have 3D printers.

#Boardgames #3dprinting #lasercutter #DeluxeEdition #maker

May 1 at 5:54pmWeb
Show threadJim P.May 1

@jeffowski I have not designed or laser cut anything myself, but I have seen a ton of laser cut things over the years. Box inserts, custom tokens, movement templates, player boards, that sort of stuff. 3D printing kind of took over as it got cheaper, though.

Back in the day (~10 years ago) pretty much everyone playing the X-Wing Miniatures game had laser cut templates and tokens.

Show threadErikMay 1
@jeffowski yes I do and yes you can. A laser cutter is prohibitively expensive tho
Show threadArgonelMay 1
@erikcats @jeffowski I wouldn't call it prohibitively expensive, but they are significantly more expensive than than a 3d printer. I have a an Xtool m1 ultra amd it works great for flat projects and compliments my 3d and 2d printers nicely. Laser cut amd etched tokens and card organizers seem to be the best uses for it.
Show threadErikMay 1

@Argonel @jeffowski true, but compared to a 3d printer you'd be paying 2 to 5 times more than a printer and the energy consumption is quite a lot higher too, compared.

Also, don't forget miniature movement trays and display bases, even terrain, and hobby tools/storage. And decorative coasters if you feel like it 😆

Show threadArgonelMay 1
@jeffowski it depends on the laser and the stock, but with my diode laser I can cut and etch colored card stock, but not white cardstock.
Show threadIan NichollsMay 1
@jeffowski
There's a market for board game inserts, and I've seen (and designed) some which are laser cut
Show threadJB (he/him)May 2
@jeffowski
I've done 3d printing for many years and recently started laser cutting. I'm using a borrowed Glowforge to cut and etch 1/8-inch (~3mm) plywood for a topographic map - 100s of individual pieces. It works great. I'm thinking of getting an OMTech K40+ for us$600 [edit-actually the software is an extra $100]. It's small but has the cutting power of the Glowforge, and comes with LightBurn which is really nice design and layout software (the Glowforge free sw is limited, and their hardware is difficult to repair). Cutting cardboard and acrylic is very easy with a laser. Note that you need to exhaust the air outside or into a filter box.
Show threadJess RobinsonMay 2
@jeffowski laser cut pieces are so.. flat :) what you can cut depends on what machine you have, i have access to a big co2 laser, so card, cardboard, acrylic, plywood etc.. still prefer the 3d printer though
Show threadStarbase JeffMay 2

@castaway --

I'm part of a larger group.
We already have several 3D printers and I'm trying to add diversity to our capabilities.