FrequentlyAskedQuestions
Q :What materials can be laser cut/ engraved?
A; Thin sheet materials ( max 5mm) such as wood, paper, card, leather, silk,neoprene , fabrics, perspex and more.
A more detailed list is being prepared,please check back.
Q; What materials cannot be cut/engraved?
A ; Metals, our lasers are CO2.
Some materials such as foiled leather and metallic finished paper are ok . Treated metals such as the backs of ipads and ipods engrave nicely.We do cut some thin metals by hand as part of our specialist Marquetry service.
We cannot cut engrave materials containing PVC due to the fumes produced.
Here is a table detailing which functions the laser can perform on certain materials;
Q ;What formats does the laser work from?
A ; *For cutting, vector line drawings as dwg(2000) or Coreldraw.*
(This is an option that becomes available when exporting a file from Adobe Illustrator and other cad drawing programmes)
*We can also produce cutting patterns from silouette images saved as jpegs, using trace software.Its not quite as precise as manually drawn cad work, and cant be used for high quality Marquetry cutting *
Do not use layers or special effects such as trace programmes as they over complicate images, confusing the laser and take much more time to process than necessary.Files can be emailed to me to check them over, or for an estimate of cost to produce.
*For engraving,good quality black & white images such as jpegs , gif or tif format.*
*** If you are unfamiliar with these formats or this kind of work,don't worry we'll do it for you! ***
Q; Laser Bed size?
A ; 81cm x 50 cms max.This is the maximum size we can cut in Perspex/acrylic sheet,leather and other thin sheet materials.
**This size is NOT an issue regarding our Marquetry.There is no size restriction for Marquetry layons,we have produced pieces 18 ft (6 mtrs) long. **
Thin materials can also be folded to allow larger materials to be cut or engraved, though its not ideal.
Q; What are your Charges,terms and payment.
A; We are generally working on one off projects and in a number of materials and so the best way to get a costing is to email through your designs, the materials you are working with and we'll give you a quotation as soon as possible.
***Whilst we really dont mind small projects and prototypes, we do have a minimum order requirement of £30.00 + vat and we dont offer credit facilities other than Paypal ***
All work must be paid for before it is sent to you, or collected, a deposit will be required before starting in some circumstances.
We accept credit cards via Paypal or Online bank transfer,details upon request
Q; How long will the project take and how much will it cost?
A ; Most cutting service projects can be delivered 1-2 weeks from our confirmation of your order, receipt of all materials,files etc, and where necessary a deposit.
Different materials have different speed and power settings, and the complexity of design adds another variable.We can however provide estimates.
Q; Can we come and look around your workshop?
A; Sorry no, unfortunately we cant have people in the workshop whilst we are lasering for reasons of Health and Safety, for speedier turnaround times and because also we are often prototyping or working for clients that would rather their projects remained unseen .
Occasionally a project may warrant a meeting to discuss project detail , and appointments can be made, but wherever possible we try to use email and phone calls .
If you have any other questions;
Email; joe@heritageinlay.com
or call 01273 506080 and leave a message or fax.
We are located In Brighton Sussex,
less than an hour from London by train