Laser Cutting: A Fast and Efficient Process for Custom Product Manufacturing and Precision Part Marking
We love laser cutting because, well… lasers are cool (not literally, but you get what we mean). However, what’s truly remarkable about laser cutting and laser engraving are all the interesting designs you can create and the speed at which you can do so.
Whether you want to manufacture branded products for your company, launch or grow your business selling custom products online or in-store, or require precision parts for industrial applications, laser cutting and laser engraving let you do all that and more.
At Accurate CNC, we do more than precision machining. With our laser cutting and laser engraving services, we aim to provide you with all the custom product manufacturing services you need. And as complex as manufacturing is, we strive to make it simple. That’s why if you have any questions or need guidance, we’ll be there to provide you with the support you need.
Laser Cutting vs. Laser Engraving: What’s the Difference?
Laser cutting and laser engraving are similar processes often performed on the same machine. However, where these processes differ is their intent. Laser cutting is used to manufacture parts or products by cutting all the way through a piece of material, while laser engraving is more about adding design and detail.
In manufacturing, high-powered laser cutters are often used to produce sheet metal products quickly and cost-effectively, relying on 1000W+ lasers to cut through materials like aluminum and steel. While these types of laser cutters are certainly very impressive — and very cool to see in action — they’re much more well-suited for high-volume manufacturing environments or specialty shops that principally cut sheet metal.
On the other side of this is laser engraving, which relies on a lower-powered laser to cut intricate designs and details into products without cutting through the material. Though lower-powered lasers aren’t able to cut through hard materials like sheet metal, they can cut through softer materials with incredible precision and speed.
Adding Design and Detail to Custom Products
Within our Idaho machine shop, we use our 130W laser cutter to provide a wide range of custom product manufacturing services beyond machining.
Our small but mighty laser cutter can easily cut through materials like plastic, rubber, and wood, as well as engrave softer metals like aluminum. This makes it a great solution for manufacturing everything from custom consumer products to commercial and industrial components like plastic and rubber gaskets.
Additionally, when you combine our laser engraving capabilities with our precision CNC machining services, we can help you quickly bring your new product and brand to life without the hassle of dealing with multiple shops. We’ve worked with companies of all sizes for their custom product manufacturing needs, helping them go from design to finished product with our product development process, versatile manufacturing capabilities, and dedication to turning their unique visions into reality.
Laser Part Marking Machined Aluminum Parts
In addition to adding logos and designs to custom products, we can perform laser part marking on aluminum parts that we machine. With our laser part marking services, we can cost-effectively engrave high-contrast, wear-resistant part numbers, rulers, specs, and more into your precision parts, providing you with a one-stop solution for your machining and part marking needs.
Limitations of Our Laser Cutting Capabilities (and How We Overcome Them)
While laser cutting is a very cost-effective and versatile manufacturing process, one of the drawbacks is that most laser cutters can only manufacture parts that require cuts in two dimensions — in other words, flat parts. This can sometimes pose an issue if you need to incorporate a bevel or countersink into your part’s design.
However, as a precision machine shop with an extensive supplier network, we regularly work with specialty laser-cutting shops that use high-powered lasers with 5-axis heads to cut 2.5/3D features into parts. Additionally, leveraging their high-power laser cutting capabilities, we can also take on projects that require cutting aluminum or steel sheets, as well as metal tubing.
Custom Product Manufacturing with Accurate CNC
Laser engraving and cutting are more than just versatile and practical manufacturing processes to customize parts and products — they provide a fun way to experiment with creating products with interesting shapes and intricate designs and can help you push your creativity to the next level.
At Accurate CNC, we’re all about creativity in manufacturing, and we get truly excited when we get to see our customers’ ideas and help them bring their visions to life. Whether you’re looking for a custom product manufacturing partner or you need to add the finishing touches to precision-machined parts, the team at Accurate CNC is here to help you achieve your goals.
Ready to start your next laser cutting or custom machining project? Upload your part files and request a quote today!