Learning how to deal with laser kerf is important if you have parts that need to fit together.

Fitting parts together could be anything from tabbed boxes to marquetry inlay work. Every pass of the laser burns away material. This burned away material creates a gap called a kerf and is similar to cutting a piece of material with a saw. The material removed by the saw is the kerf and the kerf has the width of the saw blade.

The same is true for a laser. The width of the laser spot and the laser power will create a measurable and correctable kerf.

In the video below we’ll talk about ways to find your kerf and how to adjust for it.