Curved text for laser cutters: LightBurn, xTool Creative Space and Glowforge

Laser software treats text differently from cutting-machine software: a filled shape means engrave, an outline means cut or score. That changes how you prepare curved text. Here is what each program does natively, and how to bring in a curved SVG when it does not.

LightBurn

LightBurn has had text on a path since version 0.9.03.

1. Draw the path: a circle, an arc, or any open curve.
2. Type the text with the Text tool.
3. Select both the text and the path, then Tools → Apply Path to Text.
4. In the text properties, use V-Align to place the text above, on, or below the path, and drag the text along the path to reposition it.

Limitation: the text follows the path with rotated letters. There is no arch with upright letters and no wave or bulge. For those, import an SVG.

xTool Creative Space

Creative Space cannot curve text at all. Type it straight or import an SVG that is already curved.

When you import an SVG, text that was outlined in another program arrives as filled shapes. In engrave mode that fills every letter solid, which is usually what you want. If you see an “O” become a solid circle in score mode, switch the layer to engrave, or set the processing to outline only.

Glowforge app

The Glowforge app’s text tool does not bend text. Curved text has to come in as an SVG. Filled shapes default to engrave; strokes default to cut or score, and you can change each color’s operation in the left panel after upload.

Preparing the SVG

The generator below writes exactly what laser software expects:

• Filled paths, no strokes. They import as engrave. Change the operation to cut if you want letters cut out.
• One path per color. Make the text one color and a frame another, and the software separates them into operations on import.
• Even-odd fill. Counters (the holes in O, A, B) stay open when engraving.
• Physical size in inches in the file header, so nothing needs rescaling.

Cutting letters out instead of engraving

If the letters themselves will be cut free, two things matter:

• Counters fall out. The middle of an O has nothing holding it. Use a stencil font, or add small bridges before cutting.
• Weld overlapping letters. Letters that overlap after a tight arc must be one shape or the laser cuts both outlines. The exported path already uses even-odd fill for engraving; for cut-through, run a union in LightBurn (Tools → Boolean Union) or Inkscape (Path → Union) first.

Kerf and minimum feature size

A CO2 laser removes roughly 0.1 to 0.2 mm; a diode laser less. Thin serifs and the joins between curved letters can burn away. Keep stems above about 1 mm on wood and acrylic, and preview at actual size before you commit to a sheet of walnut.