Pierce count and cut length matter more than part size
A laser has to pierce the sheet before every separate contour, and each pierce plus the travel between contours is machine time. A 300 mm panel with 150 vent holes can take far longer to cut than a plain 600 mm plate, because the plain plate is one contour and the vented panel is 151. When you compare quotes for perforated panels, grilles or heavily slotted brackets, the hole count is usually the real cost driver, and replacing a field of small holes with fewer larger slots or a pre-perforated sheet is often the single biggest saving available.
Thickness and assist gas change speed and edge condition
Cutting speed falls steeply as thickness rises, so moving from 1.5 mm to 3 mm is not a proportional price increase. The assist gas matters as well: oxygen cuts mild steel quickly but leaves an oxide layer on the edge that normally has to be removed before powder coating or welding, while nitrogen leaves a clean, oxide-free edge on stainless and aluminum at a higher gas cost. If your parts will be painted, welded or left visible, say so in the RFQ, because it decides which gas and edge treatment the supplier should price.
Nesting and sheet utilization are hidden in the unit price
Most shops price laser parts partly on how much of a standard sheet each part consumes, including the skeleton left after cutting. Parts with awkward L-shapes or large internal cutouts waste more sheet than compact rectangles, and very small quantities cannot be nested efficiently with anything else. This is one reason unit price drops noticeably between 10 and 100 pieces even when setup cost is already covered: the supplier can fill the sheet with your parts instead of paying for scrap.
Small holes and fine features have practical limits
A common shop rule of thumb is to keep hole diameters no smaller than the material thickness, and to keep narrow slots and webs wide enough that heat does not distort them. Features below those limits may still be cut, but they tend to come out tapered, slightly out of round or with more dross, and some suppliers will quietly switch them to drilling or punching as a secondary operation. If a hole is critical for a fastener or PEM insert, give it a toleranced callout on the PDF instead of relying on the DXF geometry alone.
Edge finish, burr and microjoints are separate line items
A part straight off the laser can carry dross on the bottom edge, a small heat-affected zone and tiny nubs where microjoints held it in the sheet. Deburring, tumbling or edge breaking is a separate operation with its own cost, and it is often the difference between two quotes that look very different on paper. State whether edges are functional, handled by an operator, or cosmetic, so every supplier prices the same finishing level.
Parts that will be bent need a flat pattern from the 3D model
If the laser cut blank is going to a press brake afterwards, the flat pattern depends on the bend deduction used by the shop that bends it. A DXF drawn from nominal dimensions can produce a finished part that is off by the bend allowance at every flange. For formed parts, send the STEP model so the supplier generates the flat pattern with its own tooling data, and keep the DXF for purely flat profiles.
| Input | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Pierce and contour count | Every hole and separate contour adds a pierce and travel time; vented and perforated parts cost more than their size suggests. |
| Material, thickness and assist gas | Speed falls sharply with thickness; nitrogen gives clean edges for paint or welding, oxygen is faster on mild steel but leaves oxide. |
| Quantity and nesting | Unit price reflects sheet utilization, so awkward shapes and very small batches carry more scrap cost. |
| Minimum hole and slot size | Holes smaller than material thickness and narrow webs risk taper, distortion or a switch to secondary drilling. |
| Edge requirement | Deburring, edge breaking and microjoint removal are priced separately; define functional vs cosmetic edges. |
| Flat part or formed part | Flat profiles quote well from DXF; parts that are bent afterwards should be quoted from STEP so the flat pattern matches the bend tooling. |
Next step
Use the guide to prepare a cleaner inquiry, then attach the best available files through the RFQ form. If an item is unknown, say so directly so the first reply can separate quote assumptions from confirmed requirements.