LayerCut slices STL and OBJ files into stacked layers, interlocking slices or flat-panel boxes, packs the pieces onto your sheet, and exports LightBurn files that are ready to cut.
Free during the beta. For macOS 11 or later and Windows 10 and 11. Works offline.
Choose how the piece goes together. LayerCut works out every slot, joint, pin hole and label, and shows you the finished piece in 3D before you cut anything.
Parallel layers glued flat, like a contour map. The classic way to build busts, terrain, bowls and signs.
Crossing slices that slot together without glue. Uses a fraction of the material of a stacked build.
For boxes, trays and desk organizers. Each wall of the model becomes a flat panel, and the joints are added for you.
Switch to the Sheets view to see every sheet full size on a laser bed. Hover a piece to see its name; click it to find it in the 3D model.
When a wall curves round a corner, LayerCut cuts it and the flat walls on either side as one long strip, with rows of slits across each curve so the sheet bends.
The base gets finger joints that follow the curve, dividers slot into the strip, and a wall that goes all the way round is closed with dovetail keys. Living hinges in the docs
Drop an STL or OBJ file on the window. Set the size by scale or by finished height.
Choose a saved material with its thickness, kerf and laser settings, measured once with the fit test.
Stacked, interlocking or panels. Check the 3D preview and the notes on anything that won't work.
Save LightBurn and SVG files plus an assembly guide. Open them in LightBurn and start the job.
Every laser, lens and sheet of plywood is a little different. Cut the 156 × 75 mm fit test once per material and LayerCut tells you exactly what to enter.
Save the results as a material, like “Birch 3 mm on the K40”, and every export uses them.
Start free. Buy Pro once and keep it. No subscription, no account, no internet connection needed.
$0
Free forever, for personal and commercial work.
$59 one-time
Includes 12 months of updates. Renew updates for $25 a year, whenever you like.
During the beta, everything is free. Every feature, Pro included, is unlocked until version 1.0. Your Pro licence keeps working forever on every version released within its update year. How licences work
One app for both editions. Pro unlocks with a licence key, with no reinstall.
Any laser that LightBurn drives, or any software that imports SVG. LayerCut writes the files; your usual laser software runs the machine. It's been designed around diode and CO₂ lasers cutting plywood, MDF and acrylic.
No. Every edition exports millimetre-exact SVG, which works with LightBurn, Inkscape, xTool Creative Space, Glowforge and others. Pro adds native .lbrn2 projects with your cut and engrave layers already set up.
Anything that exports STL or OBJ: Fusion, Onshape, Tinkercad, Blender, SketchUp, or a model library. Panels mode works best on models designed with thin, flat walls, such as boxes and organizers.
No. It runs entirely on your computer and your models never leave it. It only goes online to check for updates, and a Pro licence key is checked offline.
Yes, with either edition. Check the licence of the 3D model you start from, since that's set by its designer.
Pro keeps working on every version released during your update year, forever. Newer versions run as the free edition until you renew, or you can keep using the last version you're covered for. More about licences
Yes. A licence is for one person, on any computers they use.
LayerCut