The time has come. You've designed a great product and you're about to put it into production. One or more parts of your product you want to have laser cut. First, just one sample to assess whether what you have in mind will work out in practice. And then, if it does and you decide to produce multiple copies, you want to be able to easily have the part cut in larger quantities.
In short, you are faced with choosing your laser cutting partner.
But what should you really look for when choosing your partner in laser cutting?
That depends on what is important to you: are quick results a priority, or are low costs important? Is top quality a requirement, or do you value durability? Do you think it is important that your laser cutting partner thinks with you and provides advice, or is it most important that the ordering process is fast and efficient?
Below are a number of things you will want to consider when choosing your laser cutting partner.
Your design
The success of a laser-cut product depends largely on the design and choice of materials within the design. An experienced laser cutting partner will only work with reliable materials and will be able to recognize (major) errors or problems in a design before production.
Within Snijlab, we not only have extensive experience with laser cutting, we also have the design and engineering knowledge and experience necessary to recognize these errors or problems. When this is the case, we block production of the part and contact the customer to identify the problem, and fix it by mutual agreement.
In prototyping and one-offs
When you need a prototype of your design, or you only need one at all, you want to be able to act quickly and cost-effectively yet accurately.
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Will your chosen laser cutting partner be able to deliver a new version tomorrow if you need to move on or have a presentation?
If you place an urgent order with us before noon, you can pick up your order the same day after 4 pm, or it will be delivered to you before noon the next day.
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How high are the costs for one copy? Are they high and are there start-up costs?
You can have a single piece of a unique part in your home for as little as €25, a large collection plate of a precious material can exceed €100. For us, start-up costs are charged for each product. If you order multiple copies, the start-up costs are spread out and the unit price drops. If you order several products of the same material, you pay lower start-up costs for each subsequent product.
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With complex drawings; do you get a "proof", or preview in advance that you can check how your file is read in?
A preview is a standard part of our ordering process. The preview shows what operations we are going to do and counts as a contract piece. So it is very important to check this preview carefully.
For large quantities
If you want to have your design cut in large numbers, then things like finishing, post-processing, packaging and simplicity of the ordering process become important in choosing your laser cutting partner.
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How clear and easy is the ordering process? Is there a risk that the end result will be just wrong based on your design (drawing)?
With us, the ordering process is entirely online in one clear environment. No mail exchange with scattered information. No waiting time.
You have full control when ordering. Not only about your drawing and material but also what film is/isn't on it, is residual material included, how is it packaged, etc.
You can find a previously ordered product (drawing + settings) at 'my products' in the online environment and order it again. Then you can be sure that the end result will be exactly the same.
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If you order many/often parts: is it possible to have your own part number or description put on the packaging? To be able to keep things apart, and to make commissioning the parts smooth.
When you order from us, you can specify your own name or article number per order, but also per product. You will find those item numbers on the packaging upon delivery. Don't worry, there are no hard-to-remove stickers on your part ;-).
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How are the parts packed and how much work do you have to do to get them ready for use? Are they in the residual plate and do you have to take them out and process the residual material? This provides good protection during transport but with large quantities, taking them out is a lot of work.
Depending on what you are making and in what quantity, it can be more convenient to receive individual parts or just parts in the sheet. With us you have the choice and know what to expect based on this information.
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Can your laser cutting partner make your parts without any film on them?
Laser cutting without foil is the standard for many wood and paper grades. Some plastics (including polyacetal and HDPE) also come standard without foil. With acrylics, for example, this option is also available even though they come standard with foil; we then remove the foil before cutting.
The advantage of no foil is that you do not have to remove the foil. This is especially important with large numbers of parts. It also saves a bit in material use to use no foil.
The disadvantage is that process deposits can form on your parts. With wood you can remove this by sanding, with plastics by wiping away the deposits with a damp cloth. How distracting process deposits are depends on the level of detail (with large shapes it is often barely noticeable, with fine work it is more so), the type of material (on light colors of material it is more visible) and the application (in a visual application it is relevant, in technical applications often not).
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But, without protective film there is smoke and reflection deposits on the material. You have to finish that. How do you do that and how much time does it take? Or do you take lesser finish for granted?
"Clean" cutting without repetitive manual work. That was the goal when we developed autoSPOT, our machine suitable for serial work. Laser cutting with autoSPOT requires no film and no/amper deposits.
For business customers
If you are a "regular customer" with your laser cutting partner, then the way you do business is important. Ideally, you want the process of ordering, producing, delivering, invoicing and paying to run like a well-oiled machine.
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With many webshops, prepayment is the norm. But this often does not fit into your purchasing process. Is it possible to register to order on account?
With us you can register your company once for paying on account. Then you get an additional payment option in the order environment that allows you to place orders on account.
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If you have a lot of parts laser-cut often, it is convenient to have a clear order overview from which you can re-order things. Is this possible?
Previously created products can be found in 'my products' on snijlab.nl. Here you can search by product name, number, material type, order number, and so on. This makes doing a repeat order a piece of cake.
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For the finance department, there often has to be a certain purchase reference/PO number on the invoice and the invoice has to go to a specific e-mail address. Is that a little easy to arrange?
As a business customer with Snijlab, your purchase reference is easy to fill out and remains trackable in all correspondence. Do you need a quote in advance for approval within your organization? You can download this within a few clicks, including the correct references. Invoices can be sent by default to another e-mail address. For example, to your financial department so that you no longer have to deal with any administration yourself.
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Are there advantages for regular customers who order regularly?
We keep special materials, thicknesses or colors in stock for repeat customers. We also give advice/contribute to the optimization of the design in serial work. This can lead to lower costs, better quality or less work for the recipient. With recurring productions we can often make efficiency gains. If so, we can lower / discount the prices for that production.
Sustainability
Finally, if sustainability is an important issue for you, of course you want to know if this is the case for your future laser cutting partner and what they are doing in this respect.
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How sustainable are the materials used?
Our wood comes from sustainably managed forests. We ourselves are FSC certified to maintain, where possible, the Chain of Custody.We already offer acrylates that are completely recycled. When purchasing, we strive for the shortest possible transportation routes.
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How is residual material handled? Is this material recycled?
We separate the waste streams from our materials. Our desire is to be able to have each material recycled separately and we are actively working to develop these capabilities.
All in all, quite a few things to look out for when choosing your laser cutting partner. Once you have made a choice based on the above points, a very promising partnership lies ahead. A cooperation that will enable you to design and produce ever better products, to keep innovating and thus strengthen your position in the market. Nice right!
After reading this article, do you think we might be your partner in laser cutting? You can start immediately or get in touch at.
