THE FORGE

Rough JPG in. Laser-ready vectors out.

Drop in a logo, a photo or a screenshot of one. VectorForge traces it into clean curves and color layers, then hands you LightBurn, xTool, SVG or DXF files at the size you set. No hand tracing. No outsourcing.A logo or photo traced into clean curves and color layers, exported for LightBurn, xTool, SVG or DXF. No hand tracing.

Start freeTry your own image

Free account, no card · Hold on the art to look closerFree account, no card · Hold on the art to look closer

The input: a 720 px JPG of the Maker Foundry patch, saved at quality 50
The same art traced by VectorForge Precision: real vector paths
PixelsVectors
Drag to compare. Zoom in: the vectors stay sharp.

Pick the engine. Move a slider. Watch the paths.

Classic traces in a blink and is free with unlimited downloads. Precision fits true straight lines, arcs and curves to the edge. Choose how many colors to keep and how simple the paths get, and the node count tells you what you are sending to the laser. Grab a control.Classic or Precision, how many colors, how simple the paths. Grab a control.

Precision trace

Auto found 6 colors. True lines, arcs and curves: 11,808 nodes.

Nodes 11,808

Fill, outlines, nodes. Check it before you burn.

The same three views the editor gives you. Fill is what engraves. Outlines are the paths the laser follows. Nodes are every point on them. Tap one.Fill is what engraves, outlines are the laser's path, nodes are every point. Tap one.

6 colors · 705 shapes · 11,808 nodes

The real trace of the JPG above.

Every color is its own layer.

A color trace comes out as stacked layers. In the LightBurn and xTool files each color is its own engrave layer, with a starting power set from how dark it is. These are the 6 layers the app writes for this art.Each color is its own engrave layer in LightBurn and xTool, power set from how dark it is.

All layers

Engrave, then cut. One file.

Filled shapes engrave and outlines cut, so one export carries both. This is the patch's laser version, traced with Precision at 100 by 67 mm: an engrave layer, then a cut around the rope border, the way the .lbrn2 file runs it.Filled shapes engrave, outlines cut. One export carries both.

  • .lbrn2LightBurn · 208 KB
  • .xsxTool · 73 KB
  • .svgSVG · 144 KB
  • .dxfDXF · 239 KB
  • .pdfPDF
  • .epsEPS
  • .pngPNG
  • .zipZIP · several at once

Also in VectorForge

Tracing is just the start.

Make the art with the Patch Designer, dither a photo into dots, trace line art, split tones into power layers, or turn a logo into a 3D relief and a challenge coin. One account, one place. Tap one.Patch Designer, dither, line art, power layers, relief and coins. Tap one.

Your patch, traced

The trace from the top of the page. The rest of the app works on the same board.

Now try yours.

Drop in your own image and watch it trace right here, in your browser, with the free Classic engine. Nothing is uploaded. Or pick a sample to see Precision.Trace your own image right here, in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.

Trace your imageOpens VectorForge. A free account, no card: Classic traces and every download are free.

Stop tracing by hand. Start burning.

Free account, no card. Classic traces and every download are free, forever.

Start free

Prepping art for the laser is the worst part of the job.

VectorForge does all of it in one step, and the file it hands you drops straight onto the bed at the right size.

  • Hand-tracing eats hoursPen-tooling a logo just to engrave it once is soul-crushing, and you still own the cleanup.
  • Layer separation is guessworkWhich tone burns first, and at what power? You usually find out by wasting a blank.
  • Files fight your softwareWrong size, flipped, or everything dumped on one layer by the time it opens in LightBurn or xTool.

Free means you get the file.

Plenty of tools let you preview for free and charge at the download button. Here the converter and every export are free, with unlimited downloads. You pay for Precision and for AI, and nothing else.

What you getWhat it costs
Classic trace, black and white or colorFree, unlimited downloads
Power layers, 3D relief and coins, ditherFree, unlimited downloads
Every export: LightBurn, xTool, SVG, PDF, EPS, DXF, PNG, ZIPFree
Precision traceFree previews and 3 free downloads, then Pro
AI cleanup and image from text3 free previews, then credits
Hat Patch DesignerCredits: 1 Standard, 2 Premium
Cloud library of your designsPro

From image to bed in three steps.

All in one browser tab. No Illustrator, no saving out and loading back in.

  1. 1

    Add art

    Drop an image, paste it from the clipboard, or upload an SVG.

  2. 2

    Convert

    Pick a mode: trace, power layers, relief and coins, or dither. Tune it with a live preview.

  3. 3

    Export

    Set the real-world size, then download for LightBurn, xTool, SVG or DXF. Burn.

One tool, every job on the bed.

Diode, CO2 and fiber. Every mode is in the same editor, on the same image.

Start free

  1. Trace and vectorize free

    Any image into clean black and white line art or color layers. No hand tracing, no outsourcing.

  2. Precision trace pro

    Fits true straight lines, arcs and smooth curves to the edge. Corners, symmetry and colors you can edit after the trace.

  3. Power layers free

    Splits the tones into stacked, color-coded layers, each one engraved at its own power.

  4. 3D relief and coins free

    A photo or logo into a grayscale heightmap. One toggle makes a round challenge coin with rim text.

  5. Dither for photos free

    Seven dithering algorithms turn a photo into clean dots for laser photo engraving.

  6. AI cleanup credits

    A messy photo redrawn into clean, traceable art, or new art from a text prompt.

  7. Hat Patch Designer credits

    Describe a patch or upload a logo. Production-ready art for laser or UV, 19 cut shapes, 69 surface styles.

    Open the Patch Designer

  8. Native exports free

    LightBurn and xTool projects, SVG, PDF, EPS, DXF and PNG, at real millimeter sizes. Mirror, cut or engrave, background removal.

Hat Patch Designer · inside VectorForge

Hat patches, designed by AI, built to cut.

Describe the patch or upload a logo and the Patch Designer draws production-ready artwork: black and white for laser, full color for UV. Every image on this page started there.

  • Laser or UV: white handled the right way for each
  • 19 cut shapes and 8 edge finishes
  • 69 surface styles, from chenille to genuine leather
  • Ask for changes in plain words
  • Standard is 1 credit, Premium is 2 credits for 3 options
Open the Patch DesignerStart free
A Maker Foundry hat patch made by the Patch Designer for UV printing: full color
For UV: full color
The same patch made for the laser: pure black and white
For the laser: black and white

AI cleanup · credits

No usable art yet? Let AI clean it up.

A blurry photo or a phone snap of a sign: AI cleanup redraws it into clean art VectorForge can trace, or makes new art from a text prompt. It costs 1 credit an image and 0.2 to try the same one again. A free account gets 3 previews to see it work.

Start free

Free to convert. Pro for Precision. Credits for AI.

Start on the free account and keep everything you make. Go Pro when you want Precision without limits, or get every Forge app with FoundryPass.

Free

A free Maker Foundry account. No card.

$0forever

  • Classic trace, layers, relief, coins, dither
  • Every export, unlimited downloads
  • 3 free Precision downloads
  • 3 free AI previews
Open VectorForge free

Pro Monthly

Precision without limits, plus AI credits.

$9/month

  • Unlimited Precision downloads
  • 40 AI credits a month
  • Cloud library of your designs
  • 35% off credit packs
Best value

Pro Annual

$6.58 a month, billed yearly. Save 27%.

$79/year

  • Everything in Pro Monthly
  • 40 AI credits every month
  • 27% less than monthly
  • Cancel anytime

VectorForge Pro has no trial of its own: the free account is the trial, with no time limit. Precision never uses AI credits. The monthly AI credits top back up to the allowance each month; they do not stack.

Credit packs · no subscription

Need more AI credits?

Packs are for AI cleanup, image from text and the Patch Designer. Pro and FoundryPass members pay 35% less.

See the packs

No risk

Try it properly, for free.

The free account never runs out: Classic traces and every download, as many as you like, plus 3 Precision downloads and 3 AI previews to see the rest. Want the lot? FoundryPass has a 7-day free trial with VectorForge Pro and its 40 AI credits inside. Cancel before it ends and you pay nothing.

Start free

Or get them all.

VectorForge is one of the Maker Foundry apps. FoundryPass unlocks every one of them, VectorForge Pro included, with a single membership.

Monthly$24/mo
Annual$240/yr
Master Key$419once
  • TumblerForge3D tumbler mockups + laser-ready wraps
  • PatchForgehat patch design, mockups, cut files
  • ToneSmithDTF/DTG halftones + Photoshop plugin
  • VectorForgeYou are hereFree converterany image to laser-ready vectors
  • MappSmithlayered laser maps of anywhere
  • NestSmithFree plantrue-shape nesting: more parts per sheet
  • WorkbenchFree foreverfree laser settings for your machine
  • LinkForgeFree pagelink in bio for makers who sell
  • FontSmithFree fonts8,000+ fonts, every premium one in the pass
See the FoundryPass

7-day free trial on monthly and annual · cancel anytime · the Master Key is one payment, final sale.

Questions before you start?

Do I need Illustrator or Photoshop?

No. VectorForge does the tracing, the layer separation, the dithering, the relief and the background removal for you, in the browser.

Will the files open in LightBurn and xTool?

Yes. You get native LightBurn (.lbrn2) and xTool (.xs) projects with the engrave and cut layers already separated, plus SVG, PDF, EPS, DXF and PNG, at the size you set.

What is free, and what costs credits?

Classic trace, power layers, relief, coins, dither, background removal and every export are free, with unlimited downloads. Precision trace gives a free account 3 downloads, then it is part of Pro. Credits are only for AI: AI cleanup and image from text (1 credit an image, 0.2 to retry it) and the Patch Designer (1 credit Standard, 2 Premium). Precision never uses credits.

What is the difference between Classic and Precision?

Classic traces in the browser in a blink and is free. Precision fits real straight lines, arcs and curves to the edge, and lets you edit corners, symmetry and colors. Try it on any image; a free account can download 3 Precision traces.

Do I need an account?

Yes, a free Maker Foundry account, the same one every Forge app uses. No card.

Does my image stay private?

Classic trace, layers, dither, relief and background removal run in your browser and nothing is uploaded. Precision trace and the AI tools send the image to our servers to work on it. A Precision upload is kept for a day; your designs are only saved to the cloud if you save them.

Is there a free trial of Pro?

VectorForge Pro has no trial of its own, because the free account already covers the converter. FoundryPass, which includes Pro, has a 7-day free trial with the full 40 AI credits.

All questions · Quick-start guides

Ready to skip the tracing?

Turn your next image into laser-ready files.

Start freeTry your own image

Free forever, no card · Pro $9 a month or $79 a year · or in the FoundryPass

— more from VectorForge

Everything else this app gives you.

Free tools, libraries and guides — most of it works before you pay for anything.