# Laser cutting a layered topographic map > stacked elevation contours of any mountain, cut thin and glued into true 3D relief Layered topographic art is the project that made stacked map cutting famous: a mountain rendered as elevation contours, each contour cut from a separate thin sheet and glued up so the terrain rises off the wall in real, runnable-with-a-finger relief. Cut thin it becomes sculpture; cut as score lines on a single sheet it becomes a clean engraved poster. The [Topography preset](/map-designer?preset=topography) is the starting point - up to sixteen contour layers stepping through elevation. The same approach drives the [Alpine Peak](/map-designer?preset=alpine-peak) and [Canyon River](/map-designer?preset=canyon-river) presets, and the [Topo Score Lines](/map-designer?preset=topo-score-lines) preset if you want the flat engraved version ready to go. ## What you need ### Materials - Up to 16 contour sheets - use *thin* stock so the stack stays reasonable: 1.5-2 mm [laser-grade plywood](https://yxecreations.com/collections/laser-grade-plywood), chipboard, or matboard (3 mm works but the stack climbs to ~50 mm) - One backplate sheet (dark stain or paint, `#1f2937` charcoal in the preset) and optionally blue for water - Plenty of glue or [3M tape](https://yxecreations.com/collections/3m-tape) 300LSE, weights, and patience ### Tools - A CO2 or diode laser cutter, a pencil for labeling, a flat surface ## Step 1 - Frame a mountain and match the elevation band Open [the Topography preset](/map-designer?preset=topography). It loads near Banff at zoom ~11.9, a valley-to-summit window. Search your mountain and keep zoom around 11.5-12.5: wide enough that the contour rings nest into satisfying terraces, tight enough that each step is visible. Critical: the preset's elevation bands run 1400-2900 m. If your terrain sits lower or higher (the Smokies, the Himalaya, a coastal hill), most layers will come out empty until you retune the per-layer elevations in Step 2. Check the preview - if big areas show no terracing, your band does not bracket your terrain yet. ## Step 2 - Tune the contour layers - **Topography 2900m down to 1400m** - sixteen layers at 100 m intervals, each rendering the terrain above its elevation as a plate. Delete layers that show nothing (above your peak), and shift the values to bracket your terrain. Fewer, well-chosen layers (8-10) often look better and glue up faster than all 16. - **Water** - Solid `#4EA8DE`. Mountain lakes and rivers sit just above the backplate, appearing in the valley floors. - **Backplate** - `#1f2937` dark slate, the lowest ground visible in the valleys. Prefer a flat engraved map to a glued stack? Each topography layer (or the whole group via Edit) has a **Score** export type alongside Fill and Solid line - set it to mark the contours as thin engraved lines on one sheet. That is what the [Topo Score Lines preset](/map-designer?preset=topo-score-lines) ships ready to go. ## Step 3 - Export for the laser - **Layered stack:** per-layer SVG ZIP - sixteen-plus files, one per sheet. Hide any empty elevation layers with the visibility toggles first. - **Small-polygon cleanup is essential here:** high elevations produce tiny outlier islands that cannot be glued. - **Flat engraved version:** set the layers to Score and export the combined SVG for a single engraved sheet. ## Laser Cutting & Engraving ### Cut and glue the contour stack 1. Label everything. With this many layers, write the elevation on the back of each sheet as it comes off the laser - this single habit saves the whole project. 2. Cut the **Backplate**, then **Water**, then the contours bottom-up: 1400 m, 1500 m, ... up to the summit. 3. Dry-fit the full stack before any glue. Nested contour rings only fit one way; confirm the registration against the on-screen preview. 4. Glue one layer at a time, aligning each ring against the printed reference. Weight between layers if the stock wants to curl. [3M tape](https://yxecreations.com/collections/3m-tape) 300LSE between layers skips the drying time entirely. 5. Finish with a light coat of matte clear to unify mixed sheet edges, or paint the top few layers white for snowcaps. ### Flat engraved alternative 1. Set the contour layers to **Score** and engrave them as fine lines on a single sheet of birch or maple. 2. Run a test strip so the score lines are crisp but not charred; paint-fill or leave bare to taste. 3. Cut the outer rectangle (or heart/circle shape) last. This version is far faster than a glued stack and frames flat. ## 3D Printing ### If you would rather print it 1. Export the STL - the sixteen elevation steps merge into one stepped terrain mesh. The 3MF carries per-layer colors for banded hypsometric tints. 2. Print flat, no supports. 0.12-0.16 mm layer heights make the contour steps crisp. 3. Scale to 150 mm+; tiny high-elevation islands disappear below that, so run cleanup at export to remove them deliberately. ## Make it yours - Great subjects: Banff/Canmore, Chamonix, the Tetons, Yosemite's walls, your local ski hill. - Retune the band to your mountain: 100 m steps from its valley floor, e.g. 600-2100 m for the mid Alps. - Hypsometric palette: greens low (`#4C7A4C`), tans mid (`#C2A878`), white above the snow line. - Ski-run gift: add a route layer tracing the favorite descent over the contours. - Cut every layer from clear [acrylic](https://yxecreations.com/pages/acrylic-sheets) for a ghost mountain you can see through. - Swap the backplate to `#4EA8DE` blue for coastal mountains so the sea reads as water at 0 m. --- Open the Topography preset: https://www.mylasertools.com/map-designer?preset=topography Read online: https://www.mylasertools.com/learn/guides/laser-cutting-topographic-maps