Design for laser cutting: 8 rules that keep cost down

Why design affects laser cutting cost

Laser cutting is priced mainly on machine time and material. Anything that shortens the cut path, reduces pierce points or fits more parts on a sheet lowers the price. Most savings come from small decisions made at the drawing stage.

The eight rules

• Keep holes at least as large as the material thickness. Smaller holes are possible on thin sheet, but they cut slower and edge quality suffers on thicker plate.
• Leave at least one material thickness between a hole and an edge, and more if the part will be bent nearby.
• Design around standard sheet sizes. Our LVD Phoenix FL-3015 handles sheets up to 3050 × 1525 mm, including standard 3000 × 1500 mm sheets; trimming a few millimetres off a part can let an extra row fit on each sheet.
• Avoid very narrow slots and fingers. Features thinner than the material can distort from heat.
• Use common-line features where possible. Parts that share straight edges can sometimes be nested so one cut serves two parts.
• Add bend reliefs where a bend meets an edge, so the material doesn't tear when folded.
• Send clean, full-scale files: DXF or DWG for flat parts, STEP for 3D parts. Remove text, dimensions and title blocks from the cutting layer.
• Tell us what matters. If only some dimensions are critical, mark them — relaxing the rest can reduce inspection time and cost.

How we help

Our in-house CAD engineer checks every drawing before it reaches the laser and will suggest changes that reduce waste or machine time. Send your files with your quote request and we'll point out any quick wins.