Motivational quote keychain

I designed this key chain using only the free XCS software and it turned out really well.

Start by typing your quote with each line in a separate text box. 

Next, use the shape tool to draw a rectangle and place it behind one line of your text and use the alignment guides to make sure it is in the centre. Then select the text and rectangle together and use the subtract feature.

Repeat this process for any other lines of text you want in this sytle.

Once you are happy with the layout of your text, select the whole design and use the outline feature set to around 2-3mm. This will create your cut line for the keychain. You should set this to a different layer colour to make it easier when it is tine to set the processing parameters later.

The material I used for the keychain is 1.6mm laminated acrylic. This is black acrylic with a very thin white laminated layer on one side. When engraving the white layer is removed by the laser to give a high-contrast black and white design.

If you do not have this material available you can use any other kind of acrylic or wood to create a similar keychain. Just remember the cutting and engraving settings will need to be adjusted for other materials. 

These are the settings I used for cutting and engraving the material described above using the xTool D1 Pro 5w laser.