Preparing your drawings for laser cutting
Preparing your drawings for laser cutting
Time is critical
Many of the projects our clients send to us are time critical and our aim to respond to quotes within an hour is a big reason why so many companies choose Lasered Components as a supply chain partner.
By preparing your drawings for laser cutting correctly, you help to streamline your order process by cutting down questions, queries or amendments and you enable us to get your order out to you as quickly as possible.
File formats
The file formats we accept for laser cutting are DWG, DXF and NC, these are CAD files, often created in AutoCAD or a similar program.
Specify materials and quantities
The most important part of your order is what you are actually ordering! Please include this information clearly with or on your drawings.
- What material would you like us to cut?
- How thick?
- Grade and finish (if appropriate)
- Please specify the orientation you require for the grain (if required)
- Quantity required
Take a look at our materials pages to see what we can supply.
2D drawings only please
All correctly prepared drawings should be supplied in a 2D format. At Lasered Components we only cut flat components from sheets of metal. Our expertise is in cutting, not in developed parts or fabrication.
Check all dimensions
Please check every dimension on your drawing before sending them. Our internal auditors will check them to make sure nothing slips through the net, but this will add time to the turnaround of your order as we will not only have to make the amendments but we will also have to contact you to verify them.
The maximum part size we can cut from most materials is 2980mm x 1480mm, but there are some exceptions to this rule, please check the materials pages for more specific information.
Durbar / tread plate
Please make it clear on your drawings which face should have the pattern and also whether the thickness you have requested is O/P [on the plain] (without the pattern) or Overall (including the pattern).
Single continuous lines
Try to make the drawings of your components continuous single lines wherever possible. If there are gaps or breaks in lines, our lasers will treat each line as a separate cut, stopping and starting where the lines stop and start which can result in an irregular edge.
Tolerances
One of the main advantages of laser cutting is the accuracy, our laser cutting tolerances are +/-0.25mm. For 35mm and 40mm, our tolerances are + / -0.50mm, this is in line with ISO guidelines. Depending on the final requirements of your product, you may need to apply some edge finishing to your components, so please make allowance for this if it is required.
Lead-ins
A lead-in is essential to the laser cutting process, ensuring that the laser enters the cut line smoothly but it does result in a lead-in pip, a small bump on the outer edge of the component. We will add lead-ins for you on the drawings as part of the setting up process, so there is no need for you to add these on your drawings, unless you have a specific requirement. In these cases, this will need to be discussed with the sales team to ensure your component is as you require whilst making sure the laser cutting process goes as smoothly as possible.
Examples of lead-ins highlighted in red
Corners
Our software will add a 0.5mm radius on all angles of your metal components on all thicknesses, this is applied to internal and external cuts. This aids the cutting process, making it faster and smoother and resulting in a neater corner with reduced burr. On most laser cut components this radius will be barely noticeable but if the pieces you require have very acute inner angles, you might lose a bit of the end, and if it has an extreme reflex angle you might gain a bit of material on the inner edge.
Any other problems…
Our Auditors check every part on every drawing before sending them to production, if anything appears to be incomplete or does not look correct we will contact you to check it.
Time is critical
Many of the projects our clients send to us are time critical and our aim to respond to quotes within an hour is a big reason why so many companies choose Lasered Components as a supply chain partner.
By preparing your drawings for laser cutting correctly, you help to streamline your order process by cutting down questions, queries or amendments and you enable us to get your order out to you as quickly as possible.
File formats
The file formats we accept for laser cutting are DWG, DXF and NC, these are CAD files, often created in AutoCAD or a similar program.
Specify materials and quantities
The most important part of your order is what you are actually ordering! Please include this information clearly with or on your drawings.
- What material would you like us to cut?
- How thick?
- Grade and finish (if appropriate)
- Please specify the orientation you require for the grain (if required)
- Quantity required
Take a look at our materials pages to see what we can supply.
2D drawings only please
All correctly prepared drawings should be supplied in a 2D format. At Lasered Components we only cut flat components from sheets of metal. Our expertise is in cutting, not in developed parts or fabrication.
Check all dimensions
Please check every dimension on your drawing before sending them. Our internal auditors will check them to make sure nothing slips through the net, but this will add time to the turnaround of your order as we will not only have to make the amendments but we will also have to contact you to verify them.
The maximum part size we can cut from most materials is 2980mm x 1480mm, but there are some exceptions to this rule, please check the materials pages for more specific information.
Durbar / tread plate
Please make it clear on your drawings which face should have the pattern and also whether the thickness you have requested is O/P [on the plain] (without the pattern) or Overall (including the pattern).
Single continuous lines
Try to make the drawings of your components continuous single lines wherever possible. If there are gaps or breaks in lines, our lasers will treat each line as a separate cut, stopping and starting where the lines stop and start which can result in an irregular edge.
Tolerances
One of the main advantages of laser cutting is the accuracy, our laser cutting tolerances are +/-0.25mm. Depending on the final requirements of your product, you may need to apply some edge finishing to your components, so please make allowance for this if required.
Lead-ins
A lead-in is essential to the laser cutting process, ensuring that the laser enters the cut line smoothly but it does result in a lead-in pip, a small bump on the outer edge of the component. We will add lead-ins for you on the drawings as part of the setting up process, so there is no need for you to add these on your drawings, unless you have a specific requirement. In these cases, this will need to be discussed with the sales team to ensure your component is as you require whilst making sure the laser cutting process goes as smoothly as possible.
Examples of lead-ins highlighted in red
Corners
Our software will add a 0.5mm radius on all angles of your metal components on all thicknesses, this is applied to internal and external cuts. This aids the cutting process, making it faster and smoother and resulting in a neater corner with reduced burr. On most laser cut components this radius will be barely noticeable but if the pieces you require have very acute inner angles, you might lose a bit of the end, and if it has an extreme reflex angle you might gain a bit of material on the inner edge.
Any other problems…
Our internal auditors check every part on every drawing before sending them to production, if anything appears to be incomplete or does not look correct we will contact you to check it.
We aim to answer quotes sent between 7.30am and 4.00pm within one hour. Outside these hours we will respond the next working morning.
We accept DXF, DWG and NC files, please send information about which material, thickness and quantities you require.
