CutGear Studio guide
How to Make Laser-Cut Gears
Laser-cut gears work best when the design, material, kerf, and fit are treated as one practical workflow.
Choose your gear type
Start with a spur gear for simple motion, or use rack and pinion, internal gear, planetary, or chain sprocket pages when the mechanism calls for a specific layout.
Pick material thickness
Plywood and acrylic can cut differently even at the same nominal thickness. Measure your sheet and plan a small test before committing a full xTool, Glowforge, or shop laser run.
Set teeth, module, and bore size
Choose tooth count and module for the gear size you need, then set a bore that matches your shaft, dowel, bearing, or printed insert.
Export SVG or DXF
SVG is convenient for LightBurn and vector workflows. DXF is useful when your laser or CAD workflow prefers CAD-style geometry.
Test fit before final cutting
Cut one small sample or a partial gear section first. Check bore fit, tooth mesh, material char, and backlash before cutting the final parts.
Common laser-cut gear tips
Keep the file scale consistent, avoid tiny fragile tooth sizes, label test parts, and verify that plywood grain or acrylic brittleness will not undermine the mechanism.