KAV2D

Simple 2D design for laser cutting

Guides last reviewed: 5 October 2026

Kav2D is a free browser editor for people who prepare drawings for a laser cutter. You draw vectors, convert photos into paths or dithered engravings, generate boxes and gears, pack parts on the sheet, and export SVG or DXF — without installing desktop CAD.

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Kav2D editor showing the menu bar, left tools, drawing page and right inspector — The Kav2D editor — draw, arrange and export SVG or DXF in the browser.

Who Kav2D is for

Workshops, educators, students and independent makers use Kav2D when they need a focused 2D sheet, not a mechanical CAD suite. A typical first project is a name tag, a small box, or a photo plaque: set the page to millimetres, draw or generate the geometry, assign stroke colours for later cut and engrave, then export.

Kav2D does not replace LightBurn, RDWorks or the controller on your machine. It prepares files. You still check units, map colours to operations, and run a scrap test. That limit is intentional: the editor stays simple, and the laser-cutting guide explains what to verify after export.

A typical session

Open the editor. Set page size and units in File → Document & material….
Draw parts, import SVG or DXF, or generate a box, gear or illustration.
For a photo you can either trace vectors or dither an engraving. Those are different outputs.
Colour strokes by operation, close cut paths, and pack leftovers with Optimize Layout if the sheet is crowded.
Export SVG for mixed vector-and-raster jobs, or DXF for stroke-only geometry. Read What’s new when a tool’s export rules change.

Why KAV2D?

Made for laser cutting

A focused workflow for creating clean vector designs and preparing SVG or DXF files for laser software.

Simple to learn

A clear interface designed for makers, educators, students and anyone who does not want the complexity of traditional design software.

Works in your browser

Start designing without downloading or installing desktop software. Work autosaves on this device.

Written guides, not only a tool

Step-by-step tutorials use the same menu names as the editor and are reviewed when the software changes.

More than a basic vector editor

KAV2D includes practical tools designed specifically for makers and laser-cutting workflows—from tracing images into vectors and dithered photo engraving to finger-joint boxes, gears and packing parts on the sheet.

Image to Laser dialog with a photo dithered to black-and-white dots for engraving

Advanced

Dither photos for laser engraving

Image to Laser applies Floyd–Steinberg dithering in the browser: greys become black-and-white dots a laser can scan. You set millimetre size and DPI, insert the raster on the sheet, crop it with Intersect, and export SVG or PNG. DXF is for vector cuts only — the photo is omitted there on purpose.

Learn about Image to Laser

Trace Image in Cut mode with a centreline result from a line-art elephant drawing

Trace images into laser-ready vectors

Trace Image turns line art or a photo into cut, mark or engrave paths in the browser. Use a single centreline for ink strokes, or outline both sides for filled shapes, then insert the vectors on the sheet.

Learn about Trace Image

Assembled laser-cut plywood finger-joint box made with Box Generator

Generate laser-cut finger-joint boxes

Box Generator builds a finger-joint enclosure from inside or outside size, material thickness, kerf and fit. Preview the assembly, insert the panels, then nest and export for the cutter.

Learn about Box Generator

Parts packed on a Kav2D page after Optimize Layout

Optimize your material layout

Automatically pack parts on the current sheet, a leftover offcut, or the whole project. Quality defaults to Balanced. Parts that do not fit open a new sheet.

Learn about layout optimization

Export dialog in Kav2D with SVG and DXF tabs

Work with SVG and DXF files

Import existing drawings with Import SVG… or Import DXF…, continue editing them in Kav2D, and export with Export SVG or Export DXF for your laser-cutting workflow.

Learn about SVG and DXF

Built-in Illustrations library

Open Illustrations to add a ready-made drawing, then resize, mirror, combine or recolour it like other vector objects.

Explore the Illustrations library

Gear Generator dialog with a Single Gear preview

Create laser-ready gears

Generate a Single Gear or a Gear Pair in Gear Generator, adjust the available parameters, and continue editing the resulting vector geometry.

Learn how to create gears

What you can do

Draw and edit vector shapes
Add and customise text
Align, mirror and distribute objects
Combine shapes with Boolean operations
Create patterns and repeated elements
Optimize Layout to pack parts on the material
Import SVG… and Import DXF…
Export SVG and Export DXF
Insert drawings from Illustrations
Trace a photo or drawing into vectors with Trace Image
Dither a photo for raster engraving with Image to Laser
Build finger-joint boxes with Box Generator
Create gears with Gear Generator
Use stroke colours as laser-cutting layers

Common questions

Is Kav2D free to use?

Yes. The editor runs in the browser with no account and no install. Optional Ko-fi support and advertising help keep the tool and the written guides available.

Does Kav2D send a job to my laser cutter?

No. You export SVG, DXF or a raster file, then assign cut, engrave and power in LightBurn, RDWorks, LaserGRBL or the software that drives your machine. You remain responsible for units, material and safety.

When should I use Trace Image versus Image to Laser?

Trace Image builds vector cut or mark paths from a drawing or photo. Image to Laser dithers greys into black-and-white dots (Floyd–Steinberg) so a laser can scan a photo-like burn. Use vectors for knife outlines; use Image to Laser for photo engraving.

Can I export an Image to Laser result as DXF?

DXF from Kav2D is stroke geometry only. Image to Laser rasters are omitted from DXF. Export SVG or PNG for the engraving, and keep DXF for cut outlines you drew as vectors.

Where is my drawing stored?

The current project autosaves in this browser’s local storage. Download a Kav2D project file if you want a copy you can move to another computer. There is no Kav2D cloud account.

Who writes and maintains the site?

Kav2D is built by Erez D., an educator and maker. The editor, guides and legal pages are updated together when tools change. The What’s new page lists the latest documented work.

Learn KAV2D

The guides are written against the live menus. Open the editor in another tab if you want to follow along. See What’s new for the latest documented changes.

Kav2D editor with the menu bar, tools, canvas and inspector visible

Getting Started

Tour the editor, draw a shape, transform it, and export SVG or DXF.

8 min read

Trace Image

Convert a drawing or photo into cut, mark or engrave vectors. Centreline or outline, then insert on the sheet.

10 min read

Image to Laser

Dither a photo to black-and-white pixels for raster engraving. Crop with Intersect. Export SVG or PNG — not DXF.

11 min read

Box Generator

Build a finger-joint box from size, thickness, kerf and fit. Choose an open top, a fixed top, inner-strip lid or a finger-jointed cap lid, then insert cut panels.

12 min read

Optimize Layout

Pack parts on a sheet or leftover offcut. Overflow opens a new sheet; empty sheets can be removed.

10 min read

View all 12 guides

Ready to create?

Start a drawing in the browser, or read how files should look before they reach the cutter.

Open Kav2D editor Laser-cutting checklist