Router & Laser Cutting Specialists

EXAMPLES AND PHOTOS OF CNC LASER AND ROUTER CUT WORK

This page is a collection of examples to inspire creativity, and show what we can do for you.

Not all of it may have been produced in whole or part by us, but everything included here is an example of what can be accomplished with computer numeric controlled (CNC) precision cutting machines.

Various shapes lasercut from acrylic. The laser polishes as it cuts leaving a smooth shiny edge. Small jobs in 3mm are quicker to cut than 25mm thick acrylic. The laser will take about 15 minutes or more to make a 1 meter long cut in 25mm thick acrylic. This might seem slow, and looks slow, but try cutting it with a handsaw, or even a bench saw, you will find it is pretty hard material. The laser beam is polishing as it goes too, something a conventional saw definately cannot do!

This is a chess or draughts board made completely from 3mm acrylic. (plus a few small bolts and bearings!) Each part is precisely cut to fit, and has a perfect edge which requires no further finishing work. A similar board can be made from various woods, although one is more commonly cut with standard woodworking saws due to all the panels being simple squares.

The laser cutting process opens new doors on conventional woodworking, as the parts and panels can be cut with any curve and shape left to your design and imagination. If the pattern is designed carefully, all the panels will interlock perfectly. When wood is cut with the laser, it blackens the edges. This is no issue in most cases where it is suitable, but must be taken into account if a natural wood grain edge is required (it would have to be sanded in this case).

This is an example of some custom lasercut jewellry. Acrylic plastic is very popular and is available in a large range of colours including flourescent and semi-transparent and opal / arctic ice matte finishes. It comes in a standard range of thicknesses from 3mm. Some of the coloured ranges have limited thicknesses, and the clear is generally available in the complete range, which is 3mm, 4.5mm, 6mm, 8mm, 10mm, 15mm, 18mm, 20mm and 25mm. We are able to cut right up to 25mm very easily with the laser cutter. The laser beam is 0.2mm wide, so it can cut quite small intricate parts. The edges of most clear acrylics become automatically polished due to the heat of the laser beam. Sometimes a fine perpendicular line is visible in the cut, this is natural to all laser cutting. The smallest lettering I have cut are 5mm high. It is possible to go smaller than this but the heat from the laser beam becomes a problem.

These are electric control panel lids which have precision cut square holes and other shapes for mounting either switches, fuses, indicator lights, panel meters or plugs and sockets. These are a PVC based material which is quite common in enclosures of this type. They have to be routercut as PVC plastic is not (ever) easily lasercut. It is a polyvinyl chloride material, and if vapourised with a powerful laser, it simply charrs, and emits chlorine fumes, which are very bad for the intricate parts of the laser cutter.

As a quick sample of cutting this resin based hard formica material. Any shape is possible. Although a messy and hard material to cut and work with, the finished product straight off the machine requires no further finishing. This material is mostly used in electrical panels as it is an extremely good electrical insulator. It is quite resistant to heat and liquids in an industrial enviroment. These are about 350mm diameter, and 9mm thick. We can cut this material up to 25mm thick with perfect precision.

This is a good example of cutting shapes in MDF. This material cuts very cleanly (although, it makes a huge dusty mess while cutting!) Other examples of MDF use are in signage, custom curved stairs, staircases and steps, and curved benchtops with glass or other odd shaped panels fitting into the surface. Our router can not only completely cut through MDF material, it can also cut the curved rebate required to hold the glass panels in place (similar to a frame). It can also quickly and easily cut to various depths slots, and patterns into the surface.

An example of model making, the router or laser can cut these shapes to interlock, and fit together as in a kitset form very easily. Also see the "woody" 1200mm long deep V speedboat kitset cutting plans elsewhere on our site.

Here is an example of 3D router cutting into aluminium. This piece was not cut by us, but it is a fine example of what we can create if required. It started out as a solid panel of aluminium, probably about 120mm square and 8mm thick. The pattern is created from scratch or from a drawing in 3D software and exported as an .stl file. This is then converted into a g-code file specific to a cnc machine. With the correct tool, the right lubricant, and a bit of time, the material is cut away from the top down, leaving your 3D image in the material. There is a final very fine pass made, possibly with a finer cutting tool, and this gives the surface its smoothest finish possible with CNC, lessening any further manual finishing. It can then be polished, coated, anodised, or plated however you require. We have limited time available for 3D designwork, and usually receive graphics readymade as .stl files, we do all the other conversions required to get you part completed. If you are interested (learning) in 3D design, and would like to know more about this process, or be available as a designer, you are welcome to send us an email.

This is not our cnc machine working here, but it shows a computer controlled cutting tool above a panel of relief artwork. As with any 3D cutting, the cutting tool is moved over the surface in a grid-like fashion, with the tool lowering up and down slowly cutting away material which is not part of the design. We have successfully cut fully 3D shapes front and reverse using this technique, cutting both sides. First one side is cut, then when done, the material is flipped over, and the other side is cut. Alignment is very critical while doing the flipping!

On the right is an aluminium bearing holder almost cut free from the panel. You can see here the rebate which holds the bearing in place. The bearing is press fit into the center. The small "feet" either side get manually drilled in a drill press to create the mounting bolt holes.

Here is a picture of a flat aluminium piece. It is about 120mm square, and about 9mm thick. It shows the cutting tool can cut into the material a few millimeters to leave a pattern or logo, and text. Aluminium is a very durable long lasting material. We can also have aluminium powder coated for colour and extra protection. We have a small in house anodiser for smaller parts but are limited on the colours. It is mostly used for adding a protective coating on small aluminium modelling parts for protection, and the aluminium remains in a matte shiny silver appearance. If aluminium is left as is, it will soon go dull with a natural loose oxide build up on the surface, and if in harsher enviroments (like the salty sea with model boats), then the oxide layer can become a nuisance. Anodising simply forces a deeper controlled hard oxide layer to be created, protecting the purer aluminium underneath.

Here is a picture of a deep V model RC speedboat in its initial stages of construction. This particular model is 1200mm long, (quite large!) The accurate parts were all cut in a special 3mm plywood, to be simply assembled almost like a kitset. I have the free plans available if anyone is interested. They are based on the "woody" design by Doug. I also have in stock the fiberglass cloth and epoxy (or PVC) resins at a good price. Note: this is a fantastic project to attempt, but you will require some (alot of!) dedication. Building one of these is not as simple as it might initially seem! They can be run on nitro, petrol, or electric motors. Contact us if you are interested.

To give you an idea of a finished "woody" - here is a picture of a completed model deep V speedboat. It is not one of the ones router cut by us, but it is based on the same "woody" design. I will add a link to its owner or forum where more info can be found.

Check out our "stencils" page for more information on learning to use an airbrush, and painting true fire flames.

A custom lasercut card holder. The parts were designed to simply slot together with a minimum of assembly fuss. Getting tolerances correct for slotting 3mm acrylic can be some trouble as 3mm acrylic can actually vary by as much as 0.5mm each side of 3. The laser will cut extremely accurate, but if you cut a 3mm slot, sometimes the 3mm acrylic will be 3.5mm and wont slot in. Generally, I find that the center of the sheet goes under 3mm, with the edges sometimes going over. It must have something to do with the manufacturing process.

If more accuracy is required for this type of work, then there is a product called "Shinkolyte" which has tighter tolerances.

We have created many products similar to this, from simple cases to pamphlet holders.

This simply shows an acrylic custom cut panel which has been folded with a little help from some gentle heating. Our custom folder applies the heat to a linear section of the panel, while keeping the edges of the fold line cool. When it is at the correct temperature, it simply bends like a hinge. These particular pieces have a router cut V along the internal part of the fold line. This removes material which would normally get squashed in the internal corner, and also provides a tight, neat bend with no cracking etc.

Here is an example of what can be accomplished with alittle design time and thought. The pieces simply slot together, and a little plastic glue keeps the structure permanent. This particular design, and a few others are available online for free.

Here is a picture of some cnc routercut pieces. They have been cut on a rotary axis, and although we do not currently use one, we can implement this axis onto our machine should there be a demand for it. We mention it here, as it is an option should you have something in mind that would justify setting this feature up. Feel free to call, or email us and discuss the possibilities.

And finally, a quick mention of the 3D terrain modelling. On the right is a picture of the 1 meter square (about 100mm high) model which was cut on one of our machines. There may be more info on this under our other page discussing foam eps and architectural products.

Thanks for visiting our web site, and don't forget to check out our other pages showing examples of our work.

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