Custom parts for startups & enterprises - order online, delivered same day.*

Cloud accelerated prototyping & production, same day from $50 for just 1. 93% off for 10,000.

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"Thank you for making the robots a success. As a whole project it is a miracle we pulled it off (we only had about 3.5 weeks), and one of the largest parts of this miracle was the frames from Ponoko … You have a very cool company, and it is an honor to work with you."

Dan Rosenstein, Microsoft

Cloud manufacturing technologies to accelerate your hardware build.

Startups & enterprises rely on our cloud accelerated prototyping & production, to build the next great products.

Aluminum Faceplate

Sheet Metal Fabrication

Fiber laser cutting & engraving, bending & tapping, using 250+ metals.
  • ±0.13mm Dimensional accuracy
  • 3000x1500x25mm Max part size
  • 15x15x0.4mm Min part size
  • 1x1mm Min feature size
  • ISO-9001, ITAR
  • Same day Min lead time

Laser Cutting & Engraving

Sheet Metal Photochemical Machining

3D Printing

Injection Molding

Assembled Printed Circuit Boards

Aluminum Faceplate

Complexity
Part Size
Quantity
Estimated Cost Per Part:
USD $2.36
Custom parts delivered same day.

How we deliver custom parts
same day from $50 for just 1.*

01

Upload your designs online.

Get automated DFM feedback.
02

Select our materials online.

250+ engineering grade sheets.
03

Get online quote in seconds.

From $50 for just 1 delivered same day.*
93% off for 10,000. Free shipping.
04

Robots produce custom parts.

Quality checked by software & people.
05

Track your orders online.

Same day delivery to Bay Area USA. Same day shipping worldwide. Standard shipping free.
Custom parts delivered same day.

Start from just 1 part, delivered same day.
Scale to 10,000 parts, at 93% off.

Our customers are leading their industries.

Health

Bionic exoskeletons

Ekso Bionics

Retail

iOS POS hardware

Aila

AI

Fulfillment systems

Berkshire Grey

IoT

Connectivity devices

Twilio

Prototypes

AI plant monitoring

Bowery Farming

Consumer Electronics

iPhone testing stands

Apple

Homeware

Wall clocks

Decoy Lab

Fashion

Jewelry

Gio Gio Design

Homeware

Lighting

Modern Maine

Space

Internet satellites

Astranis

Aviation

Aircraft

Joby Aviation

Lidar

Autonomous vehicles

Velodyne Lidar

Scientific

Scientific devices

Thermo Fisher

Biotech

Cell therapy systems

Orca Bio

Robotics

Delivery robots

Cyan Robotics

Custom parts delivered same day.

Laser cutting built for startups & enterprises.

Automatic IP protection.

Your online account terms bind us to protect your IP confidentiality, including a Non Disclosure Agreement.

Automated 30-day payment terms.

Upgrade to business terms today . Checkout online tomorrow. Pay in 30 days.

Free standard shipping.

For all USA shipments. Free material sample too.

Live chat with our technicians.

We’re online Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm PT to assist you design highest quality & lowest cost custom parts.

99.3% precision part quality record.

Illustration of a wrench.

Standard quality procedure.

Our software, then design inspector, machine operator & quality manager quality check all orders.

Illustration of a shield.

Our promise.

If our software, robots, people or suppliers get it wrong, we’ll re-make & re-ship for free. No pesky returns.

We’re passionate about unleashing hardware creativity to advance humanity.

The speed which you were able to have my design cut and shipped was incredibly quick. Everything is dead on for what I had designed and fits flawlessly.
- David Gabel
The pieces are exactly as I wanted them, even the little details are sharp and well done. I ordered the same pieces from different vendors to compare the quality, and yours came out on top, at the best price too. I'm looking forward to ordering from you again.
- Louis Mazet
Just wanted to let you know the chipboards came in yesterday and looked great. Thanks again for your help on this! I'm sure we will be in touch for the next one.
- Monica Rivera
Wow you guys have great prices ... You know I've been getting quotes from shops at like 4-8 times more.
- Ryan LeMere
Our laser cut centerpieces arrived on time, in excellent condition, and were a huge hit at our conference. We were so impressed with the quality and service that, when designing awards for our next event, we immediately thought of Ponoko.
- Wren Dillingham

Trusted by 35,000+ founders, CEOs, engineers, designers & scientists.

FAQ

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What is laser cutting?

Laser cutting is the process of cutting material using a laser beam to vaporise material. The term laser (meaning Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation), is a generic term that includes multiple technologies all capable of forming a laser beam with the most common technologies being LED, CO2, and fiber. Laser cutters are extremely fast and accurate thanks to the use of computer numeric control on all axis and the high predictability of laser beams. Furthermore, laser cutters are one of the few manufacturing techniques that can be applied to both prototypes and mass-production. The lack of tools and consumables (unlike CNC machines), also makes them quicker to operate while also allowing for sudden design changes.
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What can laser cutting be used for?

Laser cutting can be used in just about every industry, and the wide variety of laser beams allows them to cut anything from thick pieces of steel to micron sized incisions in soft materials. One particular use for laser cutting is in products that are moving from a prototyping stage to an initial product run. When scaling up a prototype, parts can be needed in the hundreds of thousands, and Ponoko laser cutting services are ideal for this. The lack of design file changes or machinery changes enables for scaling with ease, and any sudden design changes can be inserted prior to production. Laser cutting is also very useful for applications that require precision and accuracy. The use of a well-defined laser beam combined with highly accurate axis controls allows for Ponoko to create parts that can be as small as 6x6mm with complex features being 1x1mm. Markets that can take advantage of Ponoko precision include the aerospace and automotive industries. The ability to create custom parts also plays well with applications that require unique or rare parts that are no longer available. This is a common issue with industries that deal with legacy hardware that cannot be replaced with newer systems. The ability for Ponoko to create custom 2D parts allows for such industries to replace parts and thus keep legacy equipment in service. Laser cutting is also unique in its cutting method, and this has seen laser cutting popular in artistic and aesthetic applications. The laser cutting of organic materials such as wood and paper leaves a burnt discoloration in the edges which creates a strong contrast between the material and cut edge. The same effect can also be seen with engraved lines, and this is especially striking when used on panels for equipment and devices.
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How long does it take to laser cut something?

Laser cutting is a very fast process when compared to other manufacturing techniques including CNC and manual cutting. However, complex designs with many features and engraved designs can slow down the production process. Unless a design requires intricate detail, it is best to keep designs as simple as possible, and also avoid using area engraving if possible as these require the laser beam to cover an entire area (keep in mind that laser beams focal points can be in the sub mm meaning it would take a long time to engrave a 10x10cm area). Even if a design has complex features and large engraved areas, the lack of tool changes helps to significantly increase the speed of laser cutting. Furthermore, laser cutters do not require material to be secured down tightly (unlike CNC machines), meaning that material change is very fast. Additionally, parts do not require tabs between the parent material and the part, and this allows for parts to be entirely cut out.
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What is the difference between plasma cutting and laser cutting?

The biggest difference between plasma and laser cutting is that a plasma cutter uses a stream of hot plasma (superheated gas where the electrons and nuclei are separated), to cut through material whereas a laser cutter uses a laser beam. Plasma cutters take advantage of the fact that plasma is electrically conductive by electrically charging the plasma torch and the workpiece. The electrical conductivity of the arc helps to sustain the plasma stream while also directing the stream towards the workpiece. While plasma cutters can cut thicker materials than laser cutters, it can only cut electrically conductive materials such as metal. Laser cutters, however, are not dependent on the material properties in order to perform a cut (of course, the correct laser beam needs to be used). As such, laser cutters can cut far more materials than plasma cutters including plastics, wood, and card.
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What design files do laser cutters use?

Laser cutters are numerically controlled by computers, and these almost always use g-code which describes positions and feed rates for all axis. However, users never submit g-code and instead submit a design file that describes each layer in their design including line cuts, line engrave, and area engrave. Generally speaking, the best file to use when submitting a laser-cut design is DXF, and once a file is uploaded to Ponoko, the dimensions of the design can be inserted. It is also important that customers clearly define line cutting, line engraving, and area engraving with various colors.
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How fast can laser parts be ordered and received from Ponoko?

Ponoko is a worldwide laser cutting service available to all, but US customers can benefit from Ponoko’s 24-hour delivery service on low-quantity orders. This means that once a design has been fabricated by a US-based Ponoko laser cutting centre, it will be immediately shipped out and arrive within 24-hours which is especially useful for prototyping. Larger orders (such as mass-production parts), are sent to dedicated Ponoko cutting facilities around the world. Even then, all the materials listed on the Ponoko site are available in both small and large order quantities no matter where a customer is based.
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What are Ponoko’s capabilities?

Ponoko offers a range of on-demand prototyping and production technologies - from fiber and CO2 laser cutting, to photo chemical machining, 3D printing, injection molding and custom printed circuit board fabrication and assembly. Our technologies are carefully matched to specific materials to ensure custom parts are produced to a high degree of accuracy and precision, so your thousandth part is identical to the first. Ponoko has the capability to produce parts as large as 3000mm x 1500mm x 25mm, while offering a dimensional accuracy between ±0.08mm and ±0.31mm, depending on the manufacturing technology you use. Laser cutting kerf, the amount at which a cut width changes with depth is an average 0.2mm. Minimum wall size is 0.07mm for 3D printing and 0.635mm for injection molding. Furthermore, Ponoko allows for complex features as small as 1x1mm while being able to produce parts that are 6x6mm in size.
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What materials can Ponoko laser cutters cut?

Ponoko stocks over 200 materials with various compositions, thicknesses, and colors. However, the most important feature of all of these materials is that they are engineered meaning that they are all manufactured to a specific standard and have clearly defined characteristics such as tensile strength and density. Materials that Ponoko stocks include steel, brass, copper, aluminum, card, cardboard, paper, and felt. Ponoko also stocks a range of plastic materials including acrylic and Delrin, but doesn’t stock plastics such as PVC as these release harmful gasses (such as chlorine), when laser cut.
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Is laser cutting cost-effective?

Of all production methods, laser cutting is one of the most cost-effective solutions thanks to its speed, accuracy, repeatability, lack of tooling, and ability to load new design files. CNC machining is very similar to laser cutting in that it uses CNC on its axis, but the use of a head with changeable tools leads to increased production time during tool changes. The use of tools also sees the need to replace bits when they wear down (as consumables), and the need to cut material slowly to prevent damage to the CNC also takes a long time. Plastic injection molding is the only production method that is cheaper than laser cutting, but only when used on a large scale. For example, a part that needs to be manufactured in the millions would do well to use plastic injection molding, but even for several thousand, laser cutting is usually more cost-effective.
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What services does Ponoko offer?

Ponoko offers on demand cloud access to a range of manufacturing technologies and 500+ materials, to produce custom prototype and production grade parts. Our services include custom metal deburring, burnishing, polishing, bending, tapping, engraving, marking, powder costing, full color UV printing and many other finishing services. Of these services, metal bending is used to create 3D parts from 2D sheets of metal. One common example of where metal bending can be advantageous includes EMC shields for PCBs, brackets, and mounts.

Order custom parts from your laptop, delivered same day.*

From $50 for just 1. 93% off for 10,000.

Custom parts delivered same day.
*Same day delivery (or money back) is available for orders using a limited selection of materials, placed by 11am PT Monday - Friday, for 1-100 parts to Bay Area USA locations. Same day shipping (or money back) available to USA & worldwide locations.