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Kav2D Guides

Last reviewed: 5 October 2026

Written tutorials that use the same names as the Kav2D menus and toolbars. They explain how the tools behave today, including limits such as DXF omitting Image to Laser rasters. Open the editor in another tab if you want to follow along.

Suggested order: Getting Started, then either Trace Image or Image to Laser, then Preparing Files for Laser Cutting. Generator tools (boxes, gears, nesting) sit in Advanced below. Changes to the software are listed on What’s new.

Getting started

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

Core editing

A photograph on the Kav2D board used as a tracing reference, with transform handles

Reference Image

Trace a photo on the board. Scale it to real size, draw over it, export only the paths.

8 min read
Kav2D Export dialog with SVG and DXF format tabs

SVG and DXF Import/Export

Import SVG or DXF, keep editing, then export the format your laser workflow needs.

12 min read
Two overlapping shapes combined into one outline after Union

Boolean Operations

Combine closed shapes with Union, Subtract, Intersect, Exclude / XOR and Divide.

10 min read
Five circles in a row with even spacing after Distribute

Mirror, Align and Distribute

Flip parts, line them up to the selection, and space objects evenly.

8 min read

Advanced tools

Parts packed more tightly on the Kav2D page after Optimize Layout

Optimize Layout

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

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

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

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
Illustrations panel open beside the Kav2D drawing tools

Illustrations

Browse the built-in Illustrations library, insert a drawing, then edit it like any vector object.

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

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
Gear Generator dialog showing Single Gear preview and parameters

Gear Generator

Create a Single Gear or a Gear Pair, adjust the available parameters, and keep editing the vectors.

12 min read

Laser-cutting workflow

Finished key-tag drawing with cut and engrave colours ready to export

Preparing Files for Laser Cutting

Stroke colours, closed cut paths, export options, and what to check in cutter software.

12 min read

New here? Start with Getting Started, then Tracing with a Reference Image, Trace Image, Image to Laser, Box Generator or Optimize Layout. Finish with Preparing Files for Laser Cutting.

12 guides in this collection.