Gear guides

Gear Design Guides

Practical notes for makers who want to create clean gear files for laser cutting, CNC routing, woodworking, prototyping, and 3D printing.

SVG vs DXF vs STL for Gear Files

Learn when to export SVG, DXF, or STL files for laser cutting, CNC routing, and 3D printing.

Read guide

How to Make Laser-Cut Gears

Design laser-cut gears, choose material, and prepare SVG or DXF files for xTool, Glowforge, LightBurn, plywood, and acrylic workflows.

Read guide

CNC Gear DXF Files

Create CNC gear DXF files for routing, CAD/CAM, woodworking, Shapeoko-style projects, and practical fabrication.

Read guide

3D Printable Gears STL

Make STL gear files for 3D printing with practical notes on thickness, bore size, orientation, and prototypes.

Read guide

Start with a simple gear

A small spur gear is often the fastest way to test scale, material behavior, bore fit, and export format before building a larger mechanism.

Related resources