What we laser cut
A laser is the right tool for detail: curves, lettering, small holes, tabs, or many identical pieces. It cuts without touching the sheet, so there's no chipping and no tool wear between the first part and the five-hundredth.
- Signs and lettering: acrylic signs, business signs with standoffs, and name plates.
- Displays: risers and stands, sign holders, and QR code stands.
- Gifts and events: cake toppers, ornaments, and keychains.
- Technical parts: electronics enclosures, machine guards, robot frames, and router templates.
Plain rectangle or circle? You don't need a drawing: type the size into the calculator, or see acrylic cut to size.
How thick can you laser cut acrylic?
Up to 1/2 in. (12 mm). Thinner sheet holds finer detail and costs less, so pick the thinnest sheet that does the job:
| Thickness | Good for |
|---|---|
| 1/16 in. (1.5 mm) | Overlays, stencils, inlays, model details |
| 1/8 in. (3 mm) | Most signs, ornaments, cake toppers, small boxes |
| 3/16 in. (4.5 mm) | Stiffer signs, guards, display parts |
| 1/4 in. (6 mm) | Wall signs, stands, shelves, edge-lit signs |
| 3/8 in. (9 mm) | Heavy signs, desk plaques, longer shelves |
| 1/2 in. (12 mm) | Awards, bases, thick letters |
Not sure? What thickness acrylic do I need goes through common projects, and the shelf sag calculator answers the shelf question with numbers. Anything thicker than 1/2 in. is routed: see thick acrylic cutting.
Edges straight off the laser
The laser vaporizes a narrow line of acrylic and leaves the edge melted smooth. On clear acrylic it comes out glossy and nearly transparent, the look people usually mean when they ask for polished edges. No extra step, no extra charge.
- Thicker sheet shows faint lines. On 3/8 and 1/2 in. you may see faint striations and a very slight taper. If the edge is the feature, as on an award, ask for a diamond-polished edge on the straight sides.
- Laser edges hold stress. Alcohol, many glues, and some cleaners can cause fine cracks along the cut weeks later. Read why laser-cut acrylic cracks later before you glue or paint.
- Laser vs router. A routed edge is satin, not glossy, but perfectly square. Laser-cut vs router-cut edges compares them side by side.
Tolerances and kerf
Laser-cut parts are typically within ±0.005 in. (about 0.13 mm) of your drawing. The laser removes a line of material about 0.006 to 0.010 in. wide, called the kerf, and we offset the cut so the finished part matches the dimensions you drew. You don't need to add kerf to your file. More on acrylic laser kerf.
The bigger variable is the sheet: 1/4 in. acrylic is nominally 6 mm (0.236 in.) and cast sheet varies across a sheet. For tabs and slots or press fits, tell us in the order notes and we'll measure the sheet we cut from. See why 1/4 in. acrylic isn't 1/4 in. thick.
Files for laser cutting
DXF and SVG files are priced instantly on the upload page. PDF, AI, EPS, and CorelDRAW files, hand sketches with measurements, and photos are fine too: we price those by hand within one business day.
For an instant price that matches what we cut:
- Draw at full size and choose inches or millimeters to match your file.
- Use closed outlines. Gaps in a path make the software guess where the part is.
- Delete duplicate lines; they get cut twice.
- Convert text to outlines (curves) so fonts don't swap.
- Put engraving on its own layer or color, and tell us which side it goes on.
Our free laser file checker opens a DXF or SVG in your browser and flags open paths, overall size, and total cut length before you upload. For a full walkthrough, read how to prepare a file for laser cutting acrylic, and if all you have is a picture, how to convert an image to SVG.
Design tips that save trouble
- Thin bridges break. Keep any strip of material at least as wide as the sheet is thick. The smallest detail you can laser cut in acrylic has the numbers.
- Keep holes off the edge. Leave at least one sheet thickness between a hole and an edge, and about twice that if a screw goes through it.
- Round inside corners on parts that take load, such as guards and brackets. Even a 1/16 in. radius spreads stress that a sharp corner concentrates.
- Need a hard bend? We can line bend parts up to 1/4 in. after cutting.
Not sure your idea works? Describe it at Can I make it in acrylic? or call us at (435) 777-7001.
Engraving and colors
We engrave logos, text, and lines in the same setup as the cut, on the front or reversed on the back of clear acrylic. Cast acrylic engraves a bright frosted white; extruded engraves fainter. See acrylic engraving, reverse engraving, and edge-lit signs.
Beyond clear cast and lower-cost clear extruded, we stock UV-filtering, non-glare, solid colors, tints, frosted, fluorescent, and mirror sheet. The acrylic sheet guide lists which thicknesses each comes in.
Quantities and lead times
One part is fine, and so are a thousand. Quantity breaks apply automatically, and we nest parts tightly on the sheet to cut waste. The sheet yield calculator shows how many of a part fit on a sheet.
Most laser orders ship in 3 to 5 business days after we confirm them. Rush orders ship in 1 to 3 business days; tick the rush box in your order. Very large runs get a date when we confirm the order.
What sets the price of laser cut acrylic
- Cut length. The total length of every line the laser follows, inside and out. Intricate outlines cost more than simple ones of the same size.
- Pierces. Every hole and cutout starts with a pierce, which takes longer in thick acrylic.
- Material. The area of sheet your parts use, with spacing, in the thickness and color you pick. Thicker sheet costs more and cuts more slowly; extruded costs less than cast.
- Extras. Engraving area, edge finishing, bends, tapped or countersunk holes, and standoffs.
- Quantity. Setup is shared across the run, and larger quantities get lower per-part prices.
To bring a price down, use the thinnest sheet that works, try extruded if you aren't engraving, and order all your parts together. You'll see each change instantly at /quote. Have a written quote from another US acrylic shop? We'll beat it.