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General Laser Cutting FAQs

VECTOR CUT
Material is cut all the way through, you tell the laser where to cut through vector line placement

VECTOR SCORE
Material is marked with a shallow score line, you tell the laser where to score through vector line placement

ENGRAVING
Material is ‘coloured in’, you tell the laser where to engrave through weighted line placement, fills and hatches. Engraving is a lot more time consuming than scoring and cutting.

Depending on the speed and power of the laser, the material can get slightly burnt around the edges of the cut and design. We optimise our power settings to keep these burn marks to a minimum, however from time to time they cannot be avoided. We can apply a tape to the material beforehand. Alternatively some materials can be sanded after cutting & engraving to remove burn marks. Transfer tape is not recommended for Basswood; this timber grain is very porous and the tape does not adhere well which often results in thicker cut lines and increased laser burn

Application tape does not guarantee total prevention of burn marks / residue. Jobs will be delivered with application tape in tact, The Laser Co does not take responsibility for removal of tape. Delicate materials and thin cuts may infrequently be subject to breakage when removing tape, customer discretion assumed.

  • interior plywood
  • solid timber
  • screenboard
  • boxboard
  • paper & cardboards
  • corrugated cardboard
  • acrylic / perspex
  • polypropylene
  • genuine leather
  • natural / silicone rubber
  • laser safe plastic laminates
  • bamboo products
  • cork
  • (PVC/vinyl free) imitation leather
  • polarizing film
  • cotton
  • felt
  • silk
  • linen
  • lace
  • polyester
  • fleece
  • softshell
  • denim
  • alcantara
  • SBR Neoprene

  • polycarbonates thicker than 1mm
  • foam
  • foamcore
  • styrene
  • PVC
  • vinyl
  • polyurethane
  • spandex
  • CR or SCR Neoprene
  • polystyrene foam
  • polypropylene foam
  • ABS
  • fiberglass
  • HDPE/milk bottle plastic
  • metals
  • glass

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No returns are accepted as all items are custom made.

Laser Cutting Template And File Setup FAQs

  •  When Cutting, The Laser Beam ‘Consumes’ A Small Amount Of Material, Leaving A Small Gap. This Gap Is Called A Kerf. When Cutting Items With A Tight Tolerance (E.G. Tabs, Finger Joints) The Kerf Will Affect Your Part’s Fit, Leaving It Looser Than Expected
  • Kerf Cannot Be Exactly Defined As It Is Affect By Material Type, Thickness, Cutting Speed, Laser Power Settings And Laser Frequency. As A Rough Guide Laser Kerf Ranges From Between 0.08mm – 0.45mm.
  • If You Are Cutting An Item With Tight Tolerance Time And Material Allowances For Kerf Testing Are Required
  • Below Are Guideline Kerf Thicknesses, These Measurement Are In No Way Exact And Are To Be Used As A Starting Point When Accounting For Kerf In Your Digital Design.

Acrylic 2-3mm 0.18mm
Acrylic 5-8mm 0.21mm
Plywood 3mm 0.3mm
Plywood 6mm 0.35mm
Veneered MDF 4mm 0.16mm
Boxboard 1.1mm 0.08mm
Boxboard 2.3mm 0.12mm

We Have Found That From Time To Time That Client Artwork Is Scaled When Moving From One Software To Another, Particularly With .Svg Files.

  • This Is Caused By Different Software Settings For Dimension Scaling , For Example Inkscape Uses 90DPI And Illustrator Uses 72DPI Therefore We Have Found That When A File Created In Inskcape Is Opened In Illustrator The Vectors Are Scaled Up.
  • By Providing Your Artwork In Our Templates We Can Tell If The File Has Been Scales As We Have Points Of Reference In The Template Such As Cutting Area Or Material Boundaries That Are Used As A Check Point For Unwanted Scaling
  • If You Are Creating Your Files In Inkscape Please Provide A Reference Dimension So That We Can Check That Your Artwork Is Scaled Correctly.

Laser Cutting Pricing & Delivery FAQs

On Provision Of An Invoice You May Choose To Pay With The Following Methods:

  • EFT (Bank Transfer)
  • Credit Card (AMEX, VISA, Mastercard)
  • PayPal

We Must Receive Payment / Payment Confirmation In Order To Begin Work

  • We Deliver Domestic Jobs Either Via Courier Or Australia Post Which Generally Take 1-2 Business Days But May Take Up To 4 Business Days For Non Metro Destinations
  • Same Day Delivery Can Be Arranged, Please Enquire
  • Jobs Are Either Taped Within Their Original Sheet And Sent Flat-Packed, Or Stacked And Sent In A Bundle Or Parcel (If You Have A Preference Please Let Us Know)
  • Please Advise If You Would Like Your Package Marked With ‘Permission To Leave If Unattended’, Alternatively The Delivery Personnel May Leave A Card With Instructions For Redelivery Or Alternative Collection Points
  • By Prior Arrangement Job May Be Collected From Our Studio, Please Advise If You Would Like To Collect Your Job

  • Delivery Costs Depend On Location And Weight. Contact Us For A Firm Delivery Quote
  • Same Day Delivery Can Be Arranged, Please Enquire
  • Delivery To Rural Areas May Take A Day Or Two Longer
  • We Deliver Internationally Too! From Time To Time The Destination Country Entry Point Will Charge A Customs Fee, This Fee Is The Responsibility Of The Customer.

Minimum order amount $100

We Do Not Offer Student Discounts.

We Offer Material Sample Packs Available For Purchase – E-Mail Us To Request A Pack.

If You Are Ordering A Large Fabrication Job, We Offer A Product Prototyping / Sampling Phase Before Proceeding With A Larger Order.

We Provide Both Design And File Preparation Services. Drop Us A Line To See How We Can Assist.

  • By Prior Arrangement You May Be Able To Provide Your Own Materials
  • You Will Need To Provide Excess Material For Us To Test And Perfect Our Power Settings On
  • Material Must Be Supplied Flat, As Bent Or Warped Materials Are Not Usable
  • An Additional Charge Per Unique Material Will Be Charged
  • An Additional Charge Per Sheet Will Be Charged For Oversized Materials (Materials Larger Than 1200x900mm)
  • Clients Use Their Own Material As Their Risk, Whilst We Are Very Careful With Every Job, The Laser Co Are Not Liable For Unsuccessful Cutting Or Engraving. Please Read Our Full Terms And Conditions

Signage FAQs

  • We Deliver To All Australian Locations
  • We Deliver Domestic Jobs Via Courier Which Takes Between 2 – 4 Business Days To Most Destinations Noting That Some Rural Areas May Take A Little Longer
  • Please Advise If You Would Like Your Package Marked With ‘Permission To Leave If Unattended’, Alternatively The Delivery Personnel May Leave A Card With Instructions For Redelivery Or Alternative Collection Points
  • By Prior Arrangement Job May Be Collected From Our Studio, Please Advise If You Would Like To Collect Your Job

  • We Regularly Deliver Internationally. As Signs Come In All Shapes And Sizes We Cannot Provide International Shipping Rates Until We Know The Details Of Your Project And Your Exact Delivery Address
  • Please Get In Touch Via Our Signage Quote Request Form To Confirm Your Signage Project Details And Shipping Costs
  • From Time To Time The Destination Country Entry Point Will Charge A Customs Fee, This Fee Is The Responsibility Of The Customer