Pricing for laser cutting – Pololu Custom Laser User Manual
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2. Pricing for Laser Cutting
The cost of a laser-cut part is determined by how long the parts take to cut on the machine, the amount of labor
involved (unloading and verifying parts), and the amount of risk involved in cutting a part (multiple medium-sized
pieces are less risky to cut than a single large piece that takes hours to cut).
Here are some factors that affect the price of laser-cut parts:
• Laser cutting cost: The laser cutting charge is based on the time it takes to cut the parts, which depends on
the material type and thickness. For example, cutting 1/8" acrylic starts at roughly $0.15 per inch. Please see the
list of materials on our
to see the cost per inch for cutting
your material. There is a $3 minimum charge per unique part and a $1 minimum per additional copy of each
part. We do lower these minimums for simple parts or for large quantities.
• Laser engraving cost: Raster engraving and vector engraving start at $1.00 per square inch. Raster engraving
larger areas starts at $60 per square foot. Long, continuous vector engraving lines cost roughly $0.10 per inch.
We do provide discounts off of these rates on a case-by-case basis.
• Material costs: We stock various plastics (acrylic, ABS, Mylar, PETG, and styrene), which we sell by the
square foot. You may also mail us your own material or have a supplier ship it to us directly. Here are some
prices for plastic we stock; we provide discounts if you require larger quantities:
◦ 3 mm ABS: starts at $4/sq. ft.
◦ 3 mm birch plywood: starts at $5/sq. ft.
◦ 3 mm acrylic: starts at $5/sq. ft.
◦ 6 mm acrylic: starts at $10/sq. ft.
• Minimum order: There is a $25 minimum order per material type (the minimum includes charges for labor
and materials). We do lower this minimum if your design is simple or if your quantities are large.
• Shipping: We can add shipping costs or charge to FedEx shipping accounts.
• Optional charges:
◦ Expediting services: Rushing an order costs 20% – 50% more (on top of the standard-turn price) per
expedited day, depending on what your standard turn time is. The standard turn time for most parts is 3-5
business days.
◦ File creation: $60 per hour with a $15 minimum
◦ Handling fee: Large or delicate parts that require custom packaging will incur a handling charge, which
can range from $10 – $50.
• Exceptions: We do make exceptions to our minimums and pricing depending on the parts. If your parts are
particularly simple to handle and cut, we will provide more competitive pricing. On the other hand, we are less
likely to discount our rates if your parts are more difficult or risky to cut, such as:
◦ Single large or complex parts that take a long time to cut
◦ Parts that involve a lot of careful or tedious handling (such as very small parts or fragile parts), which
are more time consuming to verify and unload from our machines.
◦ Parts that have many small, sharp, acute angles and small details (such as the frills in a dress), which
tend to melt back into the scrap plastic and become difficult to remove from the sheet.
◦ Parts that have many disjointed cuts (such as an array of small holes or a lace pattern), which take longer
to cut since the laser cutting head has to stop and move from cut to cut more often than when it cuts along
a continuous path.
Custom Laser Cutting Guide
© 2001–2014 Pololu Corporation
2. Pricing for Laser Cutting
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