Laser cutting and engraving service
- What is “laser cutting”?
- How much will it cost to produce my design?
- Design tips for laser cutting
- Can I set the laser to get different effects?
- What materials can I use for laser cutting?
- What are the maximum dimensions that you can work with the laser?
- Will there be traces of burns on the cut parts?
3D printing service
What is “laser cutting”?
The laser cutting is extremely precise and allows to reach levels of detail impossible to obtain by cutting by hand or with a classic pantograph.
The laser can cut multiple materials thanks to the great energy concentrated in one point. With thousands of pulses per second the laser is able to heat the material to the point of removing an infinitesimal part and then cutting it. The speed with which this operation is carried out ensures that the material is not damaged by overheating.
How much will it cost to produce my design?
The final price of your laser cutting project depends on the complexity of the design and the type and thickness of the material you choose. Lasers cut materials at different speeds depending on their hardness and thickness: thicker materials generally take longer.
Curved lines take longer to cut, than lines. In general, the more lines the design contains, the higher the production cost will be.
On the laser cutting page, you can get the production price for your designs immediately after choosing the material. If you wish, you can go back, change the design, and upload it again to see how the changes affect the production price.
For tips on how to make your projects more economical, check out our design tips.
Can I set the laser to get different effects?
We offer this possibility only for special projects realized in our FabLab in Milan
What materials can I use for laser cutting?
Laser cutting technology can be used with many materials: wood, paper and cardboard, fabrics, metal and plastic materials (as long as they do not contain PVC). All the materials in our catalog are guaranteed for an excellent performance with laser cutting.
What are the maximum dimensions that you can work with the laser?
The largest size you can order online is 800 × 800 mm, which corresponds to the P4 template. Larger pieces go through a dedicated quote: send us the drawing and the material and we agree on format, sectioning and transport. In practice the limit is not the machine but the material, because not every sheet in the catalogue exists in every size: check availability in the size you need and use the most suitable of these templates:
p1: 181 x 181 mm (plate size 191 x 191 mm)
p2: 384 x 384 mm (plate size 394 x 394 mm)
p3: 790 x 384 mm (plate size 800 x 394 mm)
p4: 790 x 790 (plate size 800 x 800 mm)
Will there be traces of burns on the cut parts?
Yes, there may be some burns on certain materials such as wood and cloth. Refer to the photos in our materials catalog. To remove the burn marks, you can gently use the glass that is most suitable for the material. Plastics do not undergo this type of burns.
What are the maximum working dimensions for metal cutting?
The maximum size that can be purchased through the website is 800 x 800 mm, which corresponds to the P4 template. For larger sizes, a separate quote is required, as the processing must be agreed upon along with the design sectioning and shipping. If you need a large-format cut, send us an email.
Can I share lines in the production drawing for laser-cut sheet metal?
No, you need to keep the lines separate.
What is the minimum hole diameter on a 0.8–1.0 mm metal sheet?
The minimum hole diameter equals the sheet thickness and never goes below 1 mm: on 0.8–1.0 mm sheet, the smallest hole is therefore 1 mm. The guidelines for each metal are in the material data sheets.
Can I receive the whole sheet?
Often for technical reasons it is necessary to modify the layout of the drawings. For this reason it is not possible to receive the slab of material including the scraps, but only the cut pieces
What kinds of engraving can be done on metal?
You can make incisions using the average vector engraving (green colour). It is not possible to make incisions of different intensities or raster engravings.
What is 3D printing?
3D printing is a process that allows to obtain a physical object corresponding to a three-dimensional file. The object is created by superimposing one layer after another of material, with different technologies. 3d printing is an additive rapid prototyping technology.
How is the price for 3D printing calculated?
The price is calculated automatically simply by uploading the file. The price depends on several aspects:
– the volume of the object and the type of material
– the actual quantity of material from which the object will be made
- the total amount of material used during production
– the time needed for the printer to produce the object
– the time we humans need for finishing and quality control
The volume and the material actually used are not the only parameters on which the price calculation is based, so two full and empty objects can cost the same way.
What maximum size can objects have?
The maximum size can be obtained by printing with white plastic: 677 mm x 368 mm x 565 mm
However, maximum dimensions vary depending on the materials and therefore the 3D printing technologies. Consult the technical data sheet for each material to find out the supported dimensions.
What software do you recommend to start modeling in 3d?
There are several free software and opensource for 3D modeling for printing.
Our favorite is sketchup (also useful for laser cutting): the interface and the commands are really intuitive and also has a large library of 3d models freely downloadable.
Wings 3d is free software and opensource for modeling, with a large support community and a forum dedicated to 3D modeling.
Another option is blender, another free and open source software, but very complex and therefore aimed at more experienced users.
Other professional programs are Rhinoceros, versatile and able to export directly to .stl, 3ds Max and SolidWorks.
How can I convert a 3d model to the supported formats?
The best thing to do is export the 3D model directly from the software it was created with in one of the supported formats (.stl, .obj, .dae, .skp). You can also use MeshLab, a free software capable of converting various formats.
How can I export a 3d file from autocad 2010?
The recommended export format using autocad is .stl.
Make sure you are in “3d modelling” mode
click on the “exit” tab at the top of the main window
click the “send to 3d print service” button
click on “continue”
Check the preview before printing, press OK
a dialog will appear from which you can save in .stl
Can I print colored objects directly?
The "multicolor powder" corresponding to the zcorp printing technology can be selected as material. The 3D printer deposits a directly colored composite (similar to plaster), with a range of 16 million colors. In this case the objects can also be colored internally.
How can I include colors and textures in my model for upload?
Using the .obj format, you must include any colors for printing with multicolor powder and textures in a .zip file along with the template file. In the upload page for the estimate calculation, it is therefore sufficient to select the .zip file. The supported formats for the textures are .jpg, .gif, .bmp, .png, .tiff, .xpm, .tga, .ico, .wmf, .pcx, .xbm.
What is CNC milling
The cutter is a tool that allows you to quickly cut thick materials. The preparation of the milling executive files requires a longer and more meticulous work than other 2d techniques such as laser cutting, so it is intended for expert users.
How much material does the cutter cut?
To actually visualize what the final result will be after milling it is important to consider how much material is removed from the tip of the milling cutter during processing.
The tip of the cutter moves across the cutting line, removing approximately 8 mm of material (with a difference of + or - 0.1 mm). If you draw a square with 100 mm side, after the cut you will get a square that will measure 92 mm of side.
In Illustrator, it's easy to visualize the result by temporarily assigning a stroke with a thickness of 8 mm to the drawing: the stroke represents the material that will be removed during cutting.
Note: the stroke width must be 8 mm, not 8 pt. To make the production drawing, allow for a 4 mm offset inside and outside. For a square with 100 mm sides, draw a square with 108 mm sides; for a 20 mm hole inside the square, draw a circle 12 mm in diameter. This method works very well with simple shapes.
Before uploading the drawing, remember to delete any construction lines and set the correct stroke width for upload, 0.01 mm. The cutter also has a round profile, which makes it hard to create square inside corners (imagine drawing lines with a very wide round-tipped marker).
Will I receive the whole plate?
With the CNC milling service you only receive the cut parts, not the rest of the sheet or the inner parts.
Design tips for milling
Check and double-check the dimensions
Make sure your drawing leaves room for the cutter bit. All elements must be at least 2 cm apart, on all sides and at every point.
The CNC cutter uses a rotating tip that moves through the material, until it is cut according to the drawing. Having an instrument in constant contact with the material during processing causes the process to be complex and increases the chances of something going wrong. Consequently, with the CNC milling machine, it is not possible to create very intricate designs, because they will be subjected to the cutting tool pressure, and will therefore break during processing. Your drawings must be able to sustain the force applied by the cutter that rotates at high speed on the surface of the material, following the lines.
Too detailed drawings can cause problems!
For example, it is not possible to create parts with a dimension or width of less than 12.5 mm. The lines in the drawing to create these details must be spaced at least 20 mm from each other.
To check feasibility, temporarily set the stroke to 8 mm and check the gap between the outer edges of the strokes: it must be 12.5 mm.
Then remember to set the stroke back to the correct width, 0.01 mm, before uploading.
Even if you're absolutely sure your drawing's dimensions are correct for CNC milling, we always recommend making a prototype before placing a large order. Our advice is to first test the parts you're most interested in, or the most critical ones (such as a joint), before ordering something larger and more expensive.
Open carriers and closed carriers
For better results, paths should be closed. A 0.2 mm offset with a closed path gives the cutter room to turn and makes sure the work is always cut from the same side of the cutter, for a better result.
Open paths are allowed, and are useful in some cases we'll see later. The great thing about CNC milling is that you can determine the path of the cutter and its movements based on the file: this provides great control. The cutter will cut open paths first, then closed ones.
When creating a very narrow hole or an incision of any width it is best to first remove the inner material, and then move to the outer edges to finish the edges. This also ensures that the parts remain in place before the cut is made.
You can give these instructions to the cutter simply from your drawing. A continuous engraving line is better than many shorter, broken lines: each time the cutter begins a new path, it must re-enter the material before continuing, which means the edges of the cut will be affected by this movement. With a continuous line, the cutter will only enter the material once, resulting in a more uniform edge. Furthermore, it's impossible to guarantee the order in which the cutter will cut a series of many small, broken lines: it's possible that it will leave some segments behind, making the piece unstable and free to move during machining, thus compromising the entire project.
Last tip: creating the serpentine lines like the ones above it is possible that some excess material remains around the edges. To obtain clean and precise edges it is necessary to add a perimeter line to the "serpentine" lines the arrows indicate the direction of movement of the cutter.
The cutter always processes the open paths first, followed by the closed ones. The perimeter cutting lines, at the top, are very close to the internal lines: this ensures there is no residual material around the perimeter. It is important that the open paths do not end too close to the edge: to obtain a smooth edge, it is essential that the edge is cut exclusively by the closed perimeter path. The red lines represent the path in the processing file; the gray area represents the result obtained after machining.
How to cut joints
Creating the most common of joints with CNC milling can seem complicated because the cutter creates a small radius at the corners. Obtaining right angles isn't difficult; let's see how.
Tabs
If you draw a joint like this, the result will have a small radius in the corners of the tab, which will spoil the fit. Here is how to draw a tab correctly.
The extra cutting lines will cause the cutter to remove material from the inside of the tab as well. Therefore, it's important to ensure the base is wide enough to prevent it from snapping.
Holes
To create holes with right angles, the approach is similar. To create a rectangular hole that can accommodate the tab, you need to draw these lines: the CNC router will cut the internal lines first, then the external ones. The result will be a non-rectangular hole, with some protrusions created by the router, but it will be perfectly functional for accommodating the tab and ensuring the object fits securely.
Cutting slits
Slots between 13 and 25 mm wide can be difficult to cut. When the cutter creates the slot outline, any excess shavings end up in the middle, risking damaging the cutter and compromising the work. When cutting a narrow slot, it's best to add extra cutting lines to avoid creating damaging buildup of material.
For example, to create a 20mm wide joint, it is necessary to add two cutting lines in the middle (always considering the effective width of the cutter). In the image you can see how the cutting lines, on the top, are very close: this ensures that the end part of the groove does not have excess material.
How to get better results on the edges
The cnc cutter does not allow to obtain finished edges. The sides will probably have splinters and furrows, so you will have to finish the edges with sandpaper or sander when you receive the pieces.
Grooves appear because the cutter needs several passes to go through the material. The direction changes at each pass, from clockwise to anticlockwise and so on. The grooves are easily removed by sanding the material.
The cutter causes different finishes depending on the side on which it operates. For example, by cutting a single line, one side of the excavation will be better than the other. This is because after cutting, the cutter moves to get out of the crack. The edge created by the output cutter is generally less refined than the one created at the entrance.
Placing different engraving levels side by side
If you want to create two incisions of different intensity side by side, without space between them, it is good to overlap them a little. This is because the cutter could deposit some material on the side, which is difficult to remove for the engraving next to it.
What laser cutting achieves by placing areas side by side, milling achieves by slightly overlapping the two areas made of green and red engraving lines.
Using text
Text must be converted to paths.
All characters smaller than 50 mm probably will not have a good definition. A closed line guarantees a clean and finished result. An offset of 0.2mm with a closed path is sufficient for the cutter to turn and ensures that the work is always cut from the same side of the cutter, obtaining a better result.