Design for Manufacture on Laser-Cut Parts

3 March 2026

Practical drawing rules that reduce nest waste and secondary rework.

Laser cutting rewards clean geometry. Double lines, open contours and micro-segments imported from 3D flattening create programming delays and unpredictable kerf behaviour. We return files when integrity is doubtful rather than guessing.

Hole-to-edge and hole-to-hole distances should respect plate thickness. Very tight spacing can cause heat-affected zone overlap and tilt on thick plate. For architectural screens, consider whether tab-and-slot self-fixturing is worth the nest efficiency trade-off.

Bend relief and small internal corners should be coordinated with the brake tooling that will follow. A perfect laser profile that cannot be formed without cracking is still a design error.

We prefer DXF/DWG at 1:1 scale with cut layers separated from etch/mark layers. When you need part marking, specify text height and location—otherwise labels migrate to scrap areas on the sheet.