Aluminum for laser cutting

Aluminum is a silver-coloured metal, lustrous, lightweight, and highly resistant to corrosion. The alloy used is AW 5754 (AlMg3), an aluminum-magnesium alloy with excellent mechanical properties, easily weldable, bendable and workable with mechanical tools.

The cut is performed with fibre laser with nitrogen assist gas, which gives precise, clean cuts without oxidising the edge. After cutting, parts are cleaned mechanically to remove any burrs and processing residue.

Important information for laser cutting metal

Laser cutting metals follows different rules than cutting plastic, wood, or cardboard. Before proceeding, make sure you follow these guidelines:

• It is not possible to share cutting lines between adjacent pieces.
• You will only receive the cut pieces, not the rest of the sheet. You cannot receive both the positive and the negative. To make a stencil, draw a border around your design.
• The elements on the template must be separated by at least 6 mm from each other.
• The pieces must have a footprint of at least 10 × 10 mm: smaller pieces may fall through the support grid.
• Avoid details with width less than 1 mm: they could be burned by the laser.
• The “load-bearing” details (material bridges) must have width equal to or greater than the thickness of the slab, and in any case never less than 1 mm.
• For aluminum, the minimum hole diameter must be equal to the sheet thickness to avoid taper.
• Draw using only closed paths.
• The back of the piece may be slightly satiny from the post-cutting cleaning process.
• It is possible to make medium vector engravings (green colour in the template). It is not possible to create engravings of different intensities or raster engravings.

If you have any doubts about your design, please write a note before adding the file to your cart, or contact us.

Available thicknesses

0.5 mm · 0.8 mm · 1.0 mm · 1.2 mm · 1.5 mm · 2.0 mm · 2.5 mm · 3.0 mm · 4.0 mm · 5.0 mm · 6.0 mm · 8.0 mm

Available finishes

Natural (raw) – Factory finish according to EN 485-4. The front surface may have slight surface scratches; the back may have burrs from the cutting process, which can be removed by deburring.

Vibro-finished – Finish obtained through a vibratory finishing process applied to both sides, with a fine and uniform grain. Industrial and homogeneous appearance.

Sandblasted – Finish obtained with low-pressure glass microspheres, applied on both sides. Clean, uniform, and flawless surface.

Brushed – Hand-brushed finish with a premium aesthetic result. Applied to the visible side of the file. Brushing is aligned horizontally.

For custom finishes or additional machining (bending, threading, countersinking), contact us.

Applications

Laser-cut aluminum is used in a wide range of applications: vehicle components, aircraft parts, industrial supplies, machine covers, signage, decorative lettering, maker projects, and any application requiring lightweight, easy-to-work aluminum.

Aluminum is recyclable. It can be machined with mechanical tools, secured with small metal parts, welded, and glued with special adhesives.

Drawing Guides

To properly prepare your file for laser cutting, consult our guides:

• Adobe Illustrator
• AutoCAD
• Rhinoceros
• Inkscape
• Autodesk Fusion