This guide is for laser cut metals only. Looking for PCM metals instead? Go here
File includes only the profile that is to be cut
Remove any instructions, dimensions, scales, and borders from your file. You should only upload what you want cut out.
File contains only 1 part*
Upload your parts as individual files and we'll take care of the nesting at our end. Use the quantity field to specify how many copies of each you'd like.
*If self nested designs are used for ordering we may need to reach out to collect extra money.
Minimum part size
Parts smaller than 1” can fall through the laser bed and be lost. Check the minimum parts size measurements on each material page in the materials catalog.
Minimum feature size
The positive features of your design should be no smaller than 1x the material thickness. Check the minimum feature size measurements for the thickness you wish to use on the material page in the materials catalog.
Minimum hole size
Holes and cut outs should be no smaller than 1.5x the material thickness. Check the minimum feature size measurements for the thickness you wish to use on the material page in the materials catalog.
All paths must be closed shapes.
Make sure all your paths are connected and there are no gaps in the lines.
Ensure shapes are connected and there are no shared cutting lines
Check your design to make sure no two parts are touching or sharing a line. Be sure that no lines overlap or intersect with each other.
Ensure there are no nested shapes.
A metal laser needs space to pierce and lead into the profile that is to be cut out. Ensure that parts are individual and not nested within a larger shape.
Type has been stencilized or has bridges to hold the centers in place.
The centers of letters will be lost if they are not connected to the larger sheet of material. The width of the bridge should be equal to the thickness of the material.
New! Metal bending now available for some materials.
See the full details of how this works here.
Alternatively - use a dashed cutting line to allow for bending yourself after cutting
Our metal engraving is a surface marking and does not impact the structure of the material therefore will not all for the material to bend along the engraved line.
We recommend using a dashed cut line to perforate the material and guide the fold. The width of the cut-outs should be equal to the thickness of the material you're using. You'll also need to remove >50% of the material along the line.
There are some limitations to this technique. Softer metals like aluminum can be easily bent by hand using a perforated line but harder materials like stainless will be harder to bend by hand. The material thickness will also impact how easy it is to bend the part. <2mm should be ok but >2mm you may need to use a vice and hammer to bend the metal.