The New Hotness

Changing the formula generating the matrix values and cleaning up some infelicitous code choices produces a much more pleasing result:

Layered paper - circular rainbow — Layered paper – circular rainbow

The random squares still look OK, though:

Layered Paper - SVG generator results — Layered Paper – SVG generator results

Thresholding the distance from a randomly chosen point creates circular rainbows:

CenterPoint = (choice(range(args.width)),choice(range(args.height)))

CellMatrix = [[math.hypot(x - CenterPoint[X],y - CenterPoint[Y])
                for y in range(args.height)]
                for x in range(args.width)]

dmax = max(list(chain.from_iterable(CellMatrix)))

LayerThreshold = (ThisLayer/Layers)*dmax

The Python program generates one SVG image file representing a single layer, as determined by the Bash one-liner invoking it:

for i in {00..16} ; do python Layers\ -\ 200mm.py > Test_$i.svg ; done

In real life you’d also use a different random seed for each set of layers, but that’s just another command line optIon.

Import those 17 SVG images into LightBurn, arrange neatly, snap each one to the middle of the workspace grid (and thus the aligned template), then Fire The Laser:

Layered Blocks - circular colors - 200mm 16x16 - LightBurn layout — Layered Blocks – circular colors – 200mm 16×16 – LightBurn layout

Feeding paper into the laser in rainbow (actually, heavily augmented / infilled EIA color code) order, plus the black mask, produces the aforementioned pleasing result:

Layered Paper - rainbow oblique view — Layered Paper – rainbow oblique view

Glue the sheets in the assembly fixture:

Layered Paper - gluing fixture side view — Layered Paper – gluing fixture side view

The white layer is uncut, other than the four alignment holes (with a rivnut poking up) and its binary layer number (16, backwards because upside-down), and appears in only the farthest corners of the rainbow.

Protip: doing the stack upside-down means you smear glue stick on the hidden side of each sheet. If you avoid slobbering glue into the cut square holes, nothing can go wrong.

Making these things produces the happiest chip tray ever:

Layered Paper - rainbow chip tray — Layered Paper – rainbow chip tray

I swept half a dozen pictures worth of squares into a small box and gave it away to someone with a larger small-child cross-section than mine, whereupon a slight finger fumble turned the contents into a glitter bomb. Sorry ’bout that.

The Python source code as a GitHub Gist:

	# Generator for rainbow block layered paper
	# Ed Nisley – KE4ZNU
	# 2025-08-03 cargo-culted from svg library examples

	import svg
	import math
	from argparse import ArgumentParser
	from random import randint, choice, seed
	from itertools import chain
	from pprint import pprint

	INCH = 25.4
	X = 0
	Y = 1

	def as_mm(number):
	return repr(number) + "mm"

	parser = ArgumentParser()
	parser.add_argument('–layernum', type=int, default=0)
	parser.add_argument('–colors', type=int, default=16)
	parser.add_argument('–seed', type=int, default=1)
	parser.add_argument('–width', type=int, default=16)
	parser.add_argument('–height', type=int, default=16)
	parser.add_argument('–debug', default=False)
	args = parser.parse_args()

	PageSize = (round(8.5INCH,3), round(11.0INCH,3))

	SheetCenter = (PageSize[X]/2,PageSize[X]/2) # symmetric on Y!

	SheetSize = (200,200) # overall sheet

	AlignOC = (180,180) # alignment pins in corners
	AlignOD = 5.0 # … pin diameter

	MatrixOA = (170,170) # outer limit of cell matrix

	CellCut = "black" # C00 Black
	SheetCut = "red" # C02 Red
	HeavyCut = "rgb(255,128,0)" # C05 Orange black mask paper is harder
	HeavyCellCut = "rgb(0,0,160)" # C09 Dark Blue ditto
	Tooling = "rgb(12,150,217)" # T2 Tool

	DefStroke = "0.2mm"
	DefFill = "none"

	ThisLayer = args.layernum # determines which cells get cut
	Layers = args.colors # black mask = 0, color n = not perforated

	SashWidth = 1.5 # between adjacent cells

	CellSize = ((MatrixOA[X] – (args.width – 1)*SashWidth)/args.width,
	(MatrixOA[Y] – (args.height – 1)*SashWidth)/args.height)
	CellOC = (CellSize[X] + SashWidth,CellSize[Y] + SashWidth)

	if args.seed:
	seed(args.seed)

	#— accumulate tooling layout

	ToolEls = []
	# mark center of sheet for drag-n-drop location
	ToolEls.append(
	svg.Circle(
	cx=SheetCenter[X],
	cy=SheetCenter[Y],
	r="2mm",
	stroke=Tooling,
	stroke_width=DefStroke,
	fill="none",
	)
	)
	# mark page perimeter for alignment check
	if False:
	ToolEls.append(
	svg.Rect(
	x=0,
	y=0,
	width=as_mm(PageSize[X]),
	height=as_mm(PageSize[Y]),
	stroke=Tooling,
	stroke_width=DefStroke,
	fill="none",
	)
	)
	# center huge box on matrix center
	if False:
	ToolEls.append(
	svg.Rect(
	x=as_mm(SheetCenter[X] – 2*SheetSize[X]/2),
	y=as_mm(SheetCenter[Y] – 2*SheetSize[Y]/2),
	width=as_mm(2*SheetSize[X]),
	height=as_mm(2*SheetSize[Y]),
	stroke=Tooling,
	stroke_width=DefStroke,
	fill="none",
	)
	)

	#— accumulate sheet cuts

	SheetEls = []
	# cut perimeter
	SheetEls.append(
	svg.Rect(
	x=as_mm(SheetCenter[X] – SheetSize[X]/2),
	y=as_mm(SheetCenter[Y] – SheetSize[Y]/2),
	width=as_mm(SheetSize[X]),
	height=as_mm(SheetSize[Y]),
	stroke=SheetCut if ThisLayer > 0 else HeavyCut,
	stroke_width=DefStroke,
	fill="none",
	),
	)
	# cut layer ID holes except on mask layer
	if ThisLayer > 0:
	c = ((1,1))
	h = f'{ThisLayer:0{Layers.bit_length()}b}'
	for i in range(Layers.bit_length()):
	SheetEls.append(
	svg.Circle(
	cx=as_mm(SheetCenter[X] + c[X]AlignOC[X]/2 – (i + 2)AlignOD),
	cy=as_mm(SheetCenter[Y] + c[Y]*AlignOC[Y]/2),
	r=AlignOD/4 if h[-(i + 1)] == '1' else AlignOD/8,
	stroke=SheetCut,
	stroke_width=DefStroke,
	fill="none",
	)
	)
	# cut alignment pin holes except on mask layer
	if ThisLayer > 0:
	for c in ((1,1),(-1,1),(-1,-1),(1,-1)):
	SheetEls.append(
	svg.Circle(
	cx=as_mm(SheetCenter[X] + c[X]*AlignOC[X]/2),
	cy=as_mm(SheetCenter[Y] + c[Y]*AlignOC[Y]/2),
	r=as_mm(AlignOD/2),
	stroke=SheetCut,
	stroke_width=DefStroke,
	fill="none",
	)
	)

	#— calculate matrix contents

	CenterPoint = (choice(range(args.width)),choice(range(args.height)))

	CellMatrix = [[math.hypot(x – CenterPoint[X],y – CenterPoint[Y])
	for y in range(args.height)]
	for x in range(args.width)]

	dmax = max(list(chain.from_iterable(CellMatrix)))

	if args.debug:
	print(CenterPoint)
	print(dmax)
	pprint(CellMatrix)
	print()

	#— accumulate matrix cuts

	LayerThreshold = (ThisLayer/Layers)*dmax
	if args.debug:
	print(LayerThreshold)

	MatrixEls = []
	for i in range(args.width):
	x =i*CellOC[X]
	for j in range(args.height):
	y = j*CellOC[Y]

	if args.debug:
	print(i)
	print(j)
	print(CellMatrix[i][j])


	if ThisLayer == 0: # black mask
	s = HeavyCellCut
	elif LayerThreshold < CellMatrix[i][j]: # rest of sheets above color layer
	s = CellCut
	else:
	s = Tooling # at or below color layer

	MatrixEls.append(
	svg.Rect(
	x=as_mm(SheetCenter[X] – MatrixOA[X]/2 + x),
	y=as_mm(SheetCenter[Y] – MatrixOA[Y]/2 + y),
	width=as_mm(CellSize[X]),
	height=as_mm(CellSize[Y]),
	stroke=s,
	stroke_width=DefStroke,
	fill="none",
	)
	)

	#— assemble and blurt out the SVG file

	if not args.debug:
	canvas = svg.SVG(
	width=as_mm(PageSize[X]),
	height=as_mm(PageSize[Y]),
	elements=[
	ToolEls,
	SheetEls,
	MatrixEls
	],
	)

	print(canvas)

view raw Layers – 200mm.py hosted with ❤ by GitHub

The New Hotness

Layered Paper: SVG Generator