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Design software for Glowforge

A Glowforge reads operations from the file: a stroke it can cut or score, a fill it can engrave. Getting those three right before upload is the whole job, and it is exactly what the operation system here does.

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Glowforge at a glance

Max material area
19.5 in × 11 in (Basic/Plus/Pro)
Pass-through
Unlimited length on Pro
Operations
Cut, score, engrave
Import formats
SVG, PNG, JPG, PDF

Exports drop straight into Glowforge's software

Export SVG and drag it into the Glowforge app. Cut, score and engrave layers arrive as separate steps you can assign settings to individually.

The Glowforge workflow, step by step

  1. 1

    Design at material size

    Set the mat to 19.5″ × 11″ so the canvas is the bed. Nothing gets designed that will not fit.

  2. 2

    Assign operations

    Mark each layer cut, score or engrave. Cut and score export as strokes; engrave exports as a fill.

  3. 3

    Export SVG

    The export writes each operation as its own named layer, so the Glowforge app separates them automatically.

  4. 4

    Upload and set power

    Drag into the Glowforge app and set power and speed per step.

Why design outside Glowforge’s software

Because the design step is where the time goes, and it is the step machine software treats as an afterthought. Boolean operations — weld, slice, contour, offset — are either missing, paywalled or slow in most bundled editors, and none of them lay out a mat for you or personalise a hundred items from a spreadsheet.

Working in the browser also means the tool is wherever you are. There is nothing to install, nothing to update before you can reopen yesterday’s project, and it runs on Linux and ChromeOS where several of these desktop applications simply do not.

What exports correctly

  • Real physical dimensions in inches or millimetres — nothing arrives scaled wrong.
  • Closed paths only, so the machine can tell inside from outside.
  • Text converted to outlines, so no font reference can fail on import.
  • One named layer per operation, so tool mapping happens automatically.

Formats this exports

  • SVG
  • PDF
  • PNG
  • DXF

Glowforge questions

Strokes become cut or score steps; filled areas become engraves. Set the operation per layer here and the exported SVG carries that distinction, so the app separates the steps for you.

Keep reading

Design for your Glowforge in the browser

Free, no install, no watermark. Export a cut-ready file in the next five minutes.

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