Laser machines are gaining popularity among small business owners and hobbyists. They offer endless possibilities for creating and selling unique items. Laser cutting, a widely used method in manufacturing, opens up a world of creative opportunities and product options. Many laser cutters are compact enough to fit on a tabletop and operate using vector designs, while others have open-architecture designs that can engrave and cut any size of an object.
To help new users of this technology unlock their creativity, we’ve put together a simple guide with project ideas that you can start making and selling.
Beginner Laser Project #1: State Cut Out
People love to represent where they call home. This simple wood cutout, featuring a creative and innovative laser-cut design, is easy enough for any beginner laser user and could be used to create holiday ornaments, promotional items, and personalized home decor.
Once you learn to laser cut and engrave wood using US State files here, a new world of opportunities opens up for objects from large to small!
Beginner Laser Project #2: Leather Bookmark
Leather is a fairly cheap material that can be easily transformed into something priceless by adding a laser engraving. Laser cutting can create intricate designs on leather bookmarks, showcasing detailed and artistic possibilities. You can also easily cut leather (and many other fabrics!) with your AP Lazer, making these bookmarks a fun and straightforward first project to create.
These leather bookmarks can be personalized with quotes, names, and other artwork to make them one-of-a-kind for any book lover in your life.
Wouldn’t these would make an excellent gift for teachers?
Beginner Laser Project #3: Laser Engraved Insulated Tumbler
Stainless steel tumblers are already trendy among buyers, so why not take them up a notch by adding unique, laser-engraved personalization?
Many of our current customers are having great success selling stainless steel tumblers. Since you can add almost any custom artwork, they are perfect for your line-up.
This project is a perfect beginner project to work on if you want to get comfortable using the rotary device, which makes it possible to engrave on curved objects.
To achieve the look in the image above, you’ll need to ensure the tumbler you choose to engrave is powder-coated since a c02 laser won’t leave a mark on bare metal unless a marking compound like CerMark is used.
Do you want to see what kinds of stuff our customers create with their AP Lazer? Join our Facebook community to peek into what it’s like to have your own AP Lazer.
Beginner Laser Project #4: Home Plaque
Slate is one of the most accessible materials to engrave and achieves excellent results, making it a great project for beginner laser engravers. Laser-cut signs can also be used for home decor and personalization, adding unique elements to your living space.
Check out this article about engraving slate if you want to dig deeper into this natural material.
We offer a wide variety of slate products in our shop, so stock up and create things like housewarming gifts, pet memorials, home decor, and more!
You won’t be disappointed with the results!
Beginner Laser Project #5: Moon Tile
Like slate, granite is also a relatively easy material to work with. Granite is known for its elegance and durability and is used in various industries, most commonly for countertops and memorials. You can use AP Lazer to engrave the surface of the granite, utilizing laser cutting techniques to achieve high precision and versatility, resulting in high-quality engraving with depth and clarity.
Although AP Lazer was designed to handle large objects like granite memorials, don’t let that scare you away from working with the material. You can create awards, decorative pieces, pet memorial tiles, and more.
Beginner Laser Project #6: Pint Glass
We’ve saved the best for last. End your day of practicing these beginner projects with a nice cold beverage!
Glass is another easy-to-engrave material, perfect for so many occasions. You can engrave wine glasses and glass casserole dishes, and with AP Lazer’s open architecture design, you can even engrave huge objects like doors and windows! Laser-cutting technology can also be used to create laser-cut jewelry, including earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and rings, showcasing the versatility and precision of this technology.
Ready to start engraving? You can download the files for the projects highlighted in this article right here. Happy lasering!
If you don’t yet have your laser but are ready to create priceless products like the ones in this article, call us at 800-585-8617 or use the chat feature on our website.
