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Laser cutting is great for creating complex shapes that are made from sheet materials that require precision. However, laser cutting is not great for very thick materials over 12mm as the laser beam converges at the focal point meaning that it loses its ability to cut. Furthermore, the laser cutting bed uses a grid meaning that it is not ideal for cutting very small parts as when these are cut they can fall through the bed and be lost.

The theoretical answer, yes. The real answer, nope. While an infinitely powerful beam could cut through anything, real lasers are limited in strength through their power rating. As such, some materials are just too difficult to cut through (such as glass). In addition to this, some materials such as PVC offput corrosive gases that would be bad for machines and should be avoided.

Ponoko uses a wide range of different laser cutters depending on the material they are cutting. However, for all processes and materials, Ponoko offers at the very least a dimensional accuracy of ±0.13mm, a laser kerf of 0mm - 0.2mm, complex features down to 1mm x 1mm, and part sizes down to 6mm x 6mm.

Ponoko offers a wide range of materials all with varying thicknesses. If combining all materials together, the range of thickness offered by Ponoko is between 0.1mm to 19.1mm. The largest parts can have dimensions of 790mm x 384mm, and customers can fit multiple designs into a single piece of material to save money.

Ponoko services allow you to use a wide variety of design softwares. So long as your software package can produce vector DXF, Ai, EPS, or SVG files, then you are good to go. If you’d like both cutting and engraving, then you’ll also want to ensure your software can export two different line colors to use for assigning laser functions when ordering. If you want suggestions, then consider CAD programs such as Alibre, Autodesk, and Solidworks or 2D graphic programs such as Adobe Illustrator and Inkscape.

So long as your design does not have complex features under 1mm x 1mm and the size of your design is greater than 6mm x 6mm then you can have incredibly complex features. However, customers should be aware that very long and thin features may sag if the chosen material cannot support the weight of the protruding feature.

Yes, a single laser cutter can do both engraving and cutting. This is achieved by either controlling the power of the laser (less power when engraving and more when cutting) or using a laser cutter with reduced power and using multiple passes for cutting.

Ponoko breaks down the laser cutting process into several streamlined steps to provide customers with rapid manufacturing and shipping. The first step involves the use of an online quotation system that provides Ponoko with a standard file format created from user submissions. The formatted production files are then checked by the customer team. Once files are approved for making, orders are handed over to the production team where in house material stock is ready to go for making and shipping as fast as same day. Shipping providers are pre scheduled to pick up packages daily Mon-Fri.

Trying to scale a project from concept to prototyping can be extremely challenging, and production methods such as 3D printing can only do so much. When a design needs to look similar to the finished product, one has to turn to a professional production method such as CNC or plastic injection moulding. However, laser cutting can provide this professionalism without the need to invest large amounts of money, and laser cutting can be used to produce thousands of parts at little cost compared to other production techniques.

When it comes to laser cutting, Ponoko is a world leader in laser cutting services for both engineers and makers. Our materials are of the highest quality and sourced from respectable manufacturers with trustworthy supply chains. The wide range of different engineered materials that we offer can be used in almost any project conceivable, and the diverse range of existing clientele demonstrates our ability to provide. Not only are we professionals when it comes to laser cutting, but we also believe that trust is the foundation of any respectable business. As such, we take great care in protecting intellectual property from customers and ensure that all designs sent are handled with the utmost care.