Windows app for laser shops

Military plaques, laid out in minutes.

Pick a USA or flag plaque. Place the logos and the name. Export an SVG that LightBurn opens with every part on its own layer, ready to cut.

Free for 3 days. No key, no account and no card needed to try it.

USA Plaque Designer showing a 24 inch USA plaque in the Finished view: blue canton, red stripes, white resin, a name and a shield shape.
The real app, Finished view. The plain shield marks where a unit patch would go.
What it does for your shop

Less time drawing, more time cutting

No redrawing in LightBurn

The stripes and stars are cut around every logo and name for you. Move or resize something and the wood around it is worked out again.

A proof to send first

Save a picture of the finished plaque, stained and filled with resin, with the name, order number and size. Text or email it before you cut.

Files that cut true

A 24" plaque is 24.000" in LightBurn. Cutouts, outline, engraving and text each come in on their own layer color.

Checks before you cut

Thin wood, thin resin channels and pieces that would fall out are marked on the plaque before you waste a board.

Features

Everything a USA or flag plaque needs

Every screenshot on this page is from the real app, and the proof and SVG are real files it saved.

Three plaque shapes, any width

Choose the USA, a Straight Flag or a Tattered Flag. Click 24" or 36", or type your own width in inches or millimeters. The height follows the shape.

Switch shapes at any time. Your logos and names keep their size and place.

Straight flag plaque in the Finished view with a name and a shield shape
Straight Flag
Tattered flag plaque in the Finished view with a name and a shield shape
Tattered Flag

A logo library sorted by branch

Logos are sorted by branch (Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Coast Guard, National Guard) and by kind: emblems and seals, unit patches, badges and tabs, rank, MOS insignias and artwork. Search by name.

The shared logo library grows on its own. New logos we publish show up in every copy of the app, with a small "shared" mark. That includes MOS insignias for the Marine Corps.

Each logo starts at a sensible size for its kind. Drag it onto the plaque or double-click it.

PLACEHOLDER

Screenshot for Mike to choose: the app's library panel with real logos, filtered to one branch (for example Marine Corps, MOS Insignias), next to a plaque that uses two of them.

Mike picks the logos, as the library artwork is licensed.

Your own logos and pictures

Import SVG, PNG or JPG files. A JPG of a logo on a white background gets its background made see-through for you, and the dialog shows the result before you save it. Pictures need at least 1000 pixels on their longer side, so they engrave cleanly.

Your logos live in a library folder on your PC. Put that folder in Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox and you can add logos from your phone.

Need a different color? The paint bucket changes one color of an SVG logo everywhere it is used, for example a black shield instead of olive green.

PLACEHOLDER

Suggested shot: the Import dialog with one of Mike's own logo pictures (a JPG on white), showing the see-through background on the checkerboard.

Names in 56 fonts

The Text button adds a name, a rank, dates or a motto. The font list shows your own text in every font, grouped as small caps, stencil, slab, serif, sans, condensed, script, blackletter and display.

Set the letter height as the height of the capitals (3/4" means 3/4"). Type SGT John A. Doe in a small caps font and the lowercase letters come out as small capitals.

You can add your own TrueType or OpenType fonts too.

The app's font list showing the name SGT Michael R. Hayes in several small caps fonts

Wood islands and resin, worked out for you

Every logo and name sits on solid wood: its outline grown by 3/16" (or the width you set). The stripe and star cutouts under it are recut around it, and scraps too small to fill become wood.

The Production view shows the plaque as it will be made: black is engraved or cut out and filled with resin, white is wood.

Production view of the USA plaque in black and white: the stripe cutouts stop around the name and the shield
Production view: the cutouts stop around the name and the shield.

See it finished, in your resin color

The Finished view shows the plaque as your customer will see it: the canton stained blue, the wood between the stripes stained red, and resin in the stripes and stars. Choose white, silver, black, red or blue resin. Each logo can show in Color (a glued-on piece) or Black & white (burnt into the stained wood).

USA plaque with white resin
White
USA plaque with silver resin
Silver
USA plaque with black resin
Black
USA plaque with red resin
Red
USA plaque with blue resin
Blue

A proof picture for the customer

Proof saves a JPG of the finished plaque on a light wall color, with the name, order number and size underneath. It is 3000 pixels wide: sharp on a phone and small enough to email.

Proof picture saved by the app: the finished USA plaque with the caption Hayes, order 1042, 24.0 by 15.2 inches
A proof exactly as the app saves it.

An SVG that LightBurn sorts for you

Export SVG puts each kind of line on its own color, and LightBurn turns each color into a layer: cutouts, plaque outline, logo engraving, pictures, text, logo cut lines, backer pieces and score lines.

Set Line, Fill or Image and your speeds and powers once in LightBurn. You can change which layer color each part uses in the app's Settings.

See the layer list

The exported SVG: blue plaque outline, black cutouts, orange text and a magenta cut line around the shield
The exported SVG (lines drawn thicker here so you can see them).

Pieces sheet

Pieces lays every logo out side by side with its cut line and engraving, to cut from spare stock and glue on.

Checks

Wood bridges and resin channels thinner than 3 mm, loose wood and anything past the plaque edge are marked. Click a warning to go to it.

Nothing lost

Unsaved work is kept and comes back when you open the app again. A saved plaque carries its artwork, so it opens on any PC.

Exact sizes

Drag, or type exact values. Fields take 3/16", 1 1/2 or 12mm. Undo, duplicate, flip, lock and nudge with the arrow keys.

Your layer settings

Choose the LightBurn layer color, name and order for each kind of output, the starting stroke and the check limits. Save them to a file to move to another PC.

Works offline

After the one-time activation, the app runs without internet. It checks in now and then, and picks up new shared logos when you are online.

How it works

Three steps from order to laser

  1. Pick the plaque

    Choose USA, Straight Flag or Tattered Flag, and 24", 36" or your own width. Type the customer's name and order number at the top.

  2. Add logos and names

    Drag logos from the library, import the customer's own artwork, and add the name with the Text button. Send a Proof if you like.

  3. Export and cut

    Click Export SVG and open the file in LightBurn. Turn on the layers for each board, set your speeds and powers, and run it.

Price

One price. Yours to keep.

$149one time

  • All future updates included
  • Use it on up to 3 PCs
  • 3-day free trial first, no key needed
  • No subscription and no account
  • Key sent by email right after you pay

Secure payment through Stripe. We never see your card number.

PLACEHOLDER

Mike's product photo: a finished 24" USA plaque made with the app, hanging on a wall or on the shop bench, in daylight, straight on. Wood grain, stain and resin should be easy to see.

Questions

Common questions

Do I need LightBurn?

Yes. USA Plaque Designer lays out the plaque and saves an SVG file. You open that file in LightBurn to run your laser. LightBurn is sold separately by LightBurn Software.

Does it work with my laser?

If LightBurn runs your laser, you can cut the file. The app only makes the SVG. Check that your bed fits the plaque size you pick.

Does it need the internet?

Only to activate your key once, to check in now and then, and to get new shared logos. The rest works offline.

How many computers can I use?

Up to 3 PCs at a time with one key. To move it, deactivate it on the old PC first. How to move a key.

All questions and answers

Try it on your next order

Install it free, lay out a real plaque and cut it. If it saves you time, buy a key.