Skip to main content
All CollectionsFAQs
How does laser cutting work?
How does laser cutting work?

The Ponoko machine setup and tolerances

Dayma Otene avatar
Written by Dayma Otene
Updated over a week ago

CO2 lasers produces a beam of infrared light to cut and engrave flat sheet materials, see one in action here: 

  • Laser cutting uses a computer to direct light at the material to be cut.

  • The material then melts, burns, or vaporizes leaving an edge with a high-quality finish.

  • See material edge finishes and thickness tolerances on our material pages

  • The laser beam is guided by the lines in vector design files. Ponoko cuts on the center of the lines in your file.

  • Dimensional accuracy of laser cutting is +/-0.005"

  • Average Kerf (amount of material burnt away) is +/-0.004"

  • Ponoko materials pages have more specific kerf averages under 'technical information' as this number is affected by material properties. See more information on how to design for kerf here.

  • The beam of light has a cone like shape, therefore edges are not always perfectly 90 degrees and squares and circles will not be perfectly symmetrical (this is more noticeable on our thickest sheets of material) .

To get started with laser cutting, you'll need to provide a vector design file and upload it here for quotes and orders.

Did this answer your question?