The 5-minute DXF pre-cut checklist

Most ruined cuts aren't machine problems — they're file problems. Run these five checks before every job and you'll stop wasting material.

1. Are all paths closed?

An open path won't fill, won't offset correctly, and can confuse cut ordering. In LightBurn: Edit → Select open shapes. Anything highlighted needs closing (Edit → Close path) or it was meant to be a score line — decide deliberately.

2. Any duplicate lines?

Stacked duplicates make the laser cut the same line twice — charred edges, wider kerf, wasted time. In LightBurn: Edit → Delete duplicates. This single command fixes more files than any other.

3. Units and scale

DXF files don't always carry units reliably. Import, then measure one known feature. If your 200 mm coaster imports at 2000 mm or 7.87 mm, the file was drawn in cm or inches — scale it once, correctly, before anything else.

4. Node cleanup

Traced artwork (not hand-drawn CAD) often has thousands of unnecessary nodes — slow cutting, jittery motion. Edit → Optimize selected shapes in LightBurn smooths them. If a "simple" circle has 400 nodes, the file was traced; consider redrawing or buying a proper CAD-drawn file.

5. Cut a thumbnail first

Before the full sheet: cut the design at 10% scale on scrap. It takes two minutes and reveals every problem — open paths, wrong scale, bad tabs — at 1% of the material cost.

Why our files pass this checklist

Every getdxf pack is drawn as native CAD geometry — closed paths, no duplicates, real units — specifically so you can skip checks 1, 2, and 4. You still do 3 and 5, because that's just good craft.