Laser cutting machine

A laser cutting machine lets you engrave and cut material. A good example of these machines are the laser engraving and cutting machines.

These machines have many uses, especially in prototype manufacturing where they can produce parts relatively easily. Common materials for these machines are acrylic, delrin, wood, silicone rubber, and other materials that don't have chlorine, fluorine, or other chemicals that release toxic or corrosive fumes when cut.

In order to laser cut a part you need a vector graphic file created by a program such as adobe illustrator. Engraving with these machines requires a raster graphic file created with just about any image program. You can also combined techniques to engrave and cut a part in one file for effects such as applying a texture to a part for better epoxy adhesion and cutting it out of a sheet at the same time.