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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ponoko operates a wide range of different laser cutters that are carefully matched to specific materials to ensure that parts are not only cut to a high degree of precision, but also repeatable so that the thousandth part is identical to the first. Ponoko has the capability to produce parts as large as 790mm x 384mm while offering a dimensional accuracy of ±0.13mm for all materials. Laser kerf, the amount at which a cut width changes with depth, an average 0.2mm, and the thickness range of material supplied by Ponoko is between 0.1mm to 19.1mm. Furthermore, Ponoko allows for complex features as small as 1x1mm while being able to produce parts that are 6x6mm in size.

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, aluminium, 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.

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.

Ponoko are laser cutting specialists, and as such custom laser-cut parts are the number one service provided by Ponoko. However, Ponoko also offers engraving, metal photoetching, and metal bending. Of all of these services, metal bending is particularly useful as it can be 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.