Laser cutting

Laser cutting is a thermal cutting process which achieves high-quality cuts.

The results are impressive, thanks to the extreme precision and the very fine cut. There are no blades to be cleaned or tools that suffer wear; hence the enduring quality of the cut – a handsome, uniform and precise result.

Our primary laser cutting production is in acrylic, ABS, PA (nylon), PETG and PS – but we also have considerable experience of foam, leather, felt, linoleum and other materials. You can have your product cut from any material you want.

Laser cutting has virtually no boundaries in terms of geometry – and there are no dents or pressure marks.

It is possible to laser cut through several layers of different materials. Examples are polycarbonate or polystyrene (PS-plastic) with stickers, or polyesters like Mylar, PETG, Axpet^® and Vivak^®; PVC-free film is also suitable.

Many sheets and films must be precisely cut to take into account screen-printed or digitally printed parts. Working with Trivision, we have developed a vision system that automatically moves the cut to the right place in relation to the printed word or logo.

Our laser cutters can handle sheets up to 3000 x 2200 x 20 mm.

Should your product need a thicker sheet, our water-jet cutters, cutting plotters or CNC millers can take over the task.

Silk-screen and digital prints are not affected by laser cutting to any significant degree. Laser cutting can be performed over the print without any distortion in the colour, crackling or other damage.

This means that printing of sheets and film should preferably take place before laser cutting. If sheets are laser cut first, problems may arise in the composition of the chemicals from the printed colours and tensions caused by laser cutting.

We laser cut very large amounts of acrylic: and the excellent results only add to its widespread use and popularity.

Acrylic can be laser cut in sheets of up to 25 mm thickness.

Clear acrylic can be cut to be fully transparent and seldom requires post-processing.

Extruded acrylic that undergoes laser cutting will have a small burr on one side, whilst cast acrylic is completely free from burrs.

Coloured acrylic can, in by far the majority of cases, be laser cut with radiant results.

Film for overlays, spacers, streamers and insulators is another material that lends itself to laser cutting. The alternative to laser cutting is either stamping or plotter cutting. Both methods are generally faster, but are limited in relation to hole pitch and size of holes. They also leave pressure marks along the cut.

Laser cutting is extremely well suited to felt cloth, polaroid filters and similar materials. Cutting can proceed rapidly and very precisely, for example where rolls have to be cut. Edges are free of strings, almost as if welded.

Other types of polaroid filter, foam plastic and veneer can also be laser cut with excellent results.

Many technical plastics such as POM, PA (nylon) and PEHD can be successfully laser cut, if the sheets are thin. Thicker sheets may suffer quality and tolerance issues because the plastic often melts along the cut.

At the same time, steam can arise, which then requires special measures with respect to vacuum and filter controls. Technical plastic is still laser cut, due to the geometry of the blank or to keep prices low.

At Induflex, we no longer laser cut technical plastics. Instead we prefer CNC-milling or water-jet cutting, which allows us to achieve the requisite quality.