Do you like cookies? I sure do, but typically I eat the dough before I can get around to cooking them. When I do cook them, I drop them on the sheet. I know, very cave-man of me. If you, or someone you know, actually like to have cookies shaped like something fun and unique, then LuBan's Cutter Method is for you! With the Cutter Method, you can take a 2D image and make a cookie-cutter. Let me show you how it works.
For this example, I am using this fairy by parkjisun from the Noun Project.
The original file looks like this:
TIP: This works best with line drawings. If you are not creating your own, you should look for the Creative Commons license or get permission from the artist to use and give credit to the artist.
You can use a free program like gimp to change the outline that is black to white and fill in the white with black to get the image I used in LuBan.
Cutter Method
Open LuBan and go to File > Create > Photo magic
Next, choose the Cutter option from the Method menu.
Browse for the photo you want to use and open it
Modify the Object
Adjust Size
The next step is to adjust the size of the cutter.
Adjust the Inner Size X, Y, and Z values to fit the size you want to use for the cutter.
TIP LuBan uess millimeters.
TIP After inputting a value, you MUST press Enter for the change to take effect.
Inner Pattern
There are three settings for the Inner Pattern, each of which is unique, and you will have to find what will work best for your cutter.
Ignore is the default. This setting will ignore any inner pattern, and the cutter will be just the outline of the shape of the object you are using.
With this option chosen, the Inner Depth and Inner Clearance are unavailable to change as there is no inner pattern.
Integrate will integrate the inner pattern into the cutter itself, which will result in the cookie having that pattern impressed into it.
The last option is Separate. This setting is a great option as it combines Ignore and Integrated. You get both the outline and a removable Inner Pattern. In the photo below, the entire yellow section is removable, leaving just the outline.
With Integrate and Separate Patterns, you have the option to modify the Inner Depth and Inner Clearance.
Inner Depth will change the height of the inner pattern, as shown as yellow in the examples.
Inner Clearance will change the spacing between the inner pattern and the wall of the outer cutter itself.
Blade, Cutter, and Base
You can further customize the size of the cutter with these settings:
The Blade Wall, shown in white in the example, is the part that starts the cut into the dough.
The Cutter Wall, shown in light brown in the example, is the part that pushes into the dough.
The Base Wall is the stopper, shown in blue (or yellow depending on the Inner Pattern used), and stops the cut. You can adjust the base size to make it bigger to be easier to grip, for example. You can also change the thickness of the base with the Base Thickness setting.
The Base Hole is a setting that will automatically generate and position holes to allow air
out when using the cutter. This setting may be useful to help keep the cutter from sticking to the dough. This setting will only be available with Inner and Separate patterns
The Edge Chamfer setting adjusts the space between the cutter and the inner pattern when it is two different pieces using the Separate pattern.
Text
You can open any shape and then type text into the Text field to create a cutter with Text on it. LuBan, by default, has Flip Photo as Yes, so that when you use the cutter with Text it, the cutter will have the lettering facing the correct way.
Inner Clearance with Text will impact the shape around the text itself. When making changes here, you may want to adjust up or down by one to see the changes.
TIP To use multiple lines of text, type out what you want in a text editor and then take a screenshot and open in LuBan as a photo.
Turn this:
Into this:
Now you are done! Click on Save Model, and you can then open the file(s) in your favorite Slicer and start printing!
TIP Print this at 99 or 100% infill for sturdiness.
I didn't have any cookie dough, play dough will have to make a good substitute! The cookie-cutter I printed for this tutorial was done on a FLSUN Q5 with the Draft .2 profile built into Cura. I am using eSun Pink PLA Pro+
I would also strongly suggest using the Base Holes. It would have made getting this out easier!