About Laser Cutting

Introduction

Laser Cutting is a form of modern manufacturing that uses an intense, focused beam of light to cut through or engrave almost any material. The path of the laser beam is controlled by a computer, which interprets a digital file – such as an Acrobat PDF file, or even a JPEG image. Although it might not sound like it, laser cutting is a craft in itself – requiring a skilled, hands-on operator to make the most of the process.

The 3 main categories of service we offer are Cutting, Engraving & Finishing – by this we mean:

  • Cutting – slicing through the material by following a pre-defined path.
  • Engraving – cutting to a certain depth within a material to create images, text or graphics in the surface of that material or object.
  • Finishing – processes such as stencilling, painting, gluing, sanding, varnishing and assembly.

 

How to design for Laser Cutting

We make it very easy to create things suitable for laser cutting – if you’ve ever had to create a PDF document, then you’ll be O.K.
That being said, there are a number of things to note before jumping in – you can either watch our video below to learn about them all, or we can help you through the process, or we can even do everything for you, including the design. If you choose not to watch our video, we will of course need to pass the cost of our time onto you.
We highly recommend you watch this video and account for each instruction if you’re on a tight budget as it will allow us to serve you better, quicker and for less.- it explains everything you need to know about setting up your artwork.
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Click to open, then download/save-as the Bespoke Laser Design Template

 

Materials

A very broad range of materials can be easily laser engraved and cut – in-fact more than in any other industrial manufacturing process. A selection of the most common of these can be seen here.

Advantages

>  Widest range of suitable materials – including woods, plastics, glass, ceramic, metals, foams etc.
>  Capable of extremely fine details – letters down to 1mm high remain legible on many materials.
>  Able to deal with extremely delicate materials like fabric and paper – no need to clamp or fasten the material down.
>  Ability to engrave text, images and graphics into the surface of many materials, including large objects like blocks of wood.
>  Fastest turn-around when compared to all other manufacturing methods – very little set-up involved.
>  Lowest cost of any manufacturing process for one-offs and small production runs.
>  Ability to vary each individual part, without affecting cost – makes individual customisation a reality.
>  Allows for creation of stencil masking layers in order to create accurate painted graphics or decals on objects.
>  Easy to design for – requires only very basic skills in illustration (digitally or by hand).

Limitations

>  Cutting is Ideally suited to flat sheet materials less than 30mm thick, however we can engrave into very large objects.
>  Area to be cut/engraved should be almost flat, or perfectly round – we can overcome this limitation in many instances.
>  Glass, stone & ceramic can’t be cut with a laser, but they can be engraved nicely – there are other similar ways to cut these though.
>  PVC can’t be laser cut or engraved at all (releases toxic / corrosive gases).
>  Some charring / discolouration will occur on the edges of some materials, but this can be avoided on their faces.

Pricing

We quote quickly and fairly by taking into account complexity, set-up, material choice, finishing processes and timing. If you’re on a tight budget, then be sure to avoid the following:
>  Poorly set-up files – watch the video above closely to avoid this happening.
>  Designs with many small parts without connecting tabs to keep them in place – often a problem for complex architectural models.
>  Large areas of engraving, tall areas in particular – just contact us and we will be happy to explain this point.
>  Unreasonably short deadlines – the longer you give us to complete your project, the less we charge. 5 business days is standard.
>  Vague ideas of what you need done – try to think things through before contacting us – even a simple sketch goes a long way.
>  Shipping costs – we prefer picking up your project as it saves us time and you money.

Getting a quote & ordering

If you’d like something completely unique or custom that we don’t offer through our website, then all you need to do is request a quote and we’ll get back to you within one business day with options. You can also call us to discuss, or arrange a meeting in person – see our contact page for details.

We do also offer a wide range of our most commonly ordered customisable items through our website. Have a look through this page to see if anything we offer fits you. If it does, you can go right ahead and order through our website. You can upload your own artwork as part of the process. We will be in touch to confirm the order and to let you know if you need to make any artwork changes.

Payment

We accept PayPal transactions and direct deposits to make things easy. If you order online, then you can pay immediately, otherwise we will send you an invoice via email when necessary – it includes a PayPal link too.
For all new customers, we require full payment before we can commence production. We are of course open to the terms of other well established businesses if this does not suit your company.