LASER CUTTING SERVICE

We offer a very high quality laser cutting service, can cut areas up 1200 x 700mm and engrave graphics up to 1000dpi. We can draw from a vast range of materials including: acrylic, MDF, Polybak, finnboard, plywood, paper and oiled manilla. We turn around projects quickly. Contact Mo to discuss your project artwork@modelshop.co.uk / 020 7264 1295

 

• Laser Cutting Materials
• Laser Cutting Artwork Preparation
• Laser Engraving
• Laser Engraving Curved Surfaces
• Laser Cutting Stencils
• Laser In-Filling
• Laser Cutting Price Guide
• Laser Cutting Gallery
• Contact Information & Workshop Opening Hours

 

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LASER CUTTING MATERIALS

• We have a shop on site that stocks a wide range of Laser Cutting Materials.
• Most commonly materials cut by our laser cutter are acrylics, plywood, MDF, card, paper and fabric.
• We cannot cut metal, glass or stone (or anything that won't burn) although we may be able to etch the surface.
• If you require something cut from metal see our Photo Etching Service.
• We will not cut PVC, or anything containing vinyl (or anything that will create toxic fumes when burnt).
• If you have something unusual (types of fabric etc) that you are unsure of, we will try it as long as it looks benign.
• We use a Trotec Speedy 400 tube laser which allows us to cut most materials quickly and efficiently.

 

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LASER CUTTING ARTWORK PREPARATION

We can provide a full artwork service if you prefer. If you are providing us with your own artwork, please follow these guidelines:

Laser cutting & engraving artwork key:

• Engraving = Black (RGB 0/0/0)
• Scribing = Red (RGB 255/0/0)
• Inner cut = Blue (RGB 0/0/255)
• Outline cut = Green (RGB 0/255/0)

Please note:

• Scribe and cut line weights need to be hairline or 0.076mm.
• We accept artwork in DXF, DWG, CDR, AI, EPS, PDF formats.
• We also accept artwork in good old pen and paper, however, hand drawn artwork will be subject to a fee for conversion to vectors.
• Please include a 100mm reference line next to the artwork, a line in various formats can be downloaded here:

 

EXAMPLE

 

 

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LASER ENGRAVING

Our laser department specialises in custom engraving, we can cut to the depth you need in the material you want. Past projects have included rubber stamps, business cards, ouija board, clock faces, portraits, printing blocks and book covers.

We can engrave onto a wide range of materials. If you have something you’re interested in having engraved, contact us and we’ll see what we can do.

 

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LASER ENGRAVING CURVED SURFACES

The laser can engrave onto the surfaces of cylindrical objects using our rotary attachment. We have used the rotary attachment to engraving many curved surfaces including drink glasses, cardboard tubes, snooker balls and wooden eggs.

 

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LASER CUTTING STENCILS

Laser cutting your stencils means you can achieve complex shapes with relative ease. You also benefit of being able to repeat your artwork once the stencil becomes unuasble.

We can also cut in a number of materials that we can pull from our comprehensive stock, just give us a call to discuss your requirements.

We created a 3 colour stencil using oiled manila paper.

 

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IN-FILLING SERVICE

• Infilling is a service we offer in conjunction with our Photo Etching Service. We can laser infill any half etched areas with ink. This is often required with name plates. Traditionally infilling has been done has been by hand using pen and ink.
• We have developed a quicker, more cost effective way of in-filling. Using a special coating that is applied to the metal surface, our laser can selectively burn the coat into the half etched areas, leaving a matte black finish on the metallic base.
• As well infilling half etched areas, we can also accurately transfer artwork onto the surface of any metal surface. The process leaves the artwork “printed” onto the metal in high visibility matte black.

 

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PRICE GUIDE

At 4D we appreciate that every laser cutting job is unique and we offer a custom service. Send us your artwork and we can provide you with a quote. Alternatively an estimate can be supplied once we have seen a portion of your artwork.

We charge £6.40 (+VAT) per sheet for the taping up of materials with a low tack tape. This protects the surfaces from scorch-marks (on card, wood) and from 'gloom' (on acrylics). The laser team will be happy to advise if taping is necessary with your material.

Should you require help with artwork preparation we can assist: charges start at £14.50 (+VAT).

 

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