Why is my design “too complex” or freezing the laser software?
Updated Nov 11, 2026
Short answer: The file has tens of thousands of points, often thousands of loose little lines from CAD or tracing. Join and simplify them.
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What do you cut with?
Drop your SVG or DXF file here
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Free. Nothing is uploaded: the check runs on your own computer.
Marks: open ends cut twice dots and tiny bits text and pictures
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Why it happens
Every corner and curve point in a file is a node. Laser software has to plan a path through all of them. Some files carry far more than they need:
- Outlines saved as thousands of loose little lines. CAD exports often do this. A Glowforge forum case had about 68,000 nodes that came down to about 7,500 once the pieces were joined and simplified.
- Traced pictures, where every pixel step became a point.
- Hidden extras: doubled shapes and specks you cannot see.
xTool's help pages make the same point: how complex an SVG is depends on the number of curves, not on the file size.
How to fix it
- Drop the file into the checker above. It counts the points and warns when there are tens of thousands.
- Press "Fix everything I can". Loose pieces are joined into whole shapes, points on straight runs are merged, and doubles and specks are removed.
- Download and open it in your laser software. In the example below, 21,000 loose lines became one gear outline.
Real example: before and after
What the checker found
- 21,000 open shapes
- Very detailed: 42,004 points
- Size: 108 mm (4.25 in) wide × 108 mm (4.25 in) tall
What was fixed
- Joined 21000 broken pieces into 1 whole shape.
- Closed 1 shape whose ends nearly met.
- Merged straight runs: 19,875 fewer points, same drawing.
Download: before (SVG) · after (SVG)
Questions
How many points is too many?
There is no single number, and it depends on your computer. Glowforge support says a very high node count can make a print fail at "Preparing your print". The checker warns from about 20,000 points.
Does joining and merging change the shape?
No. Joining connects pieces end to end. Merging only removes points that sit on a straight line, never moving the line by more than 0.005 mm.
What if it is still too big after fixing?
Then the curves themselves have too many points, which needs simplifying. In Inkscape use Path › Simplify; in Illustrator, Object › Path › Simplify. Check the result here afterwards, because simplifying can open or overlap shapes.