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Copper and its Alloys, such as Brass have been used by man for thousands of years. In fact it is probable that Copper was one of the first metals to be used. Brass has remained a popular material throughout the centuries for everything from ship parts to door knockers. By the way, brass door furniture makes a lot of sense as brass is naturally germicidal - a brass door handle will disinfect itself within eight hours! We've combined the two here as, from a laser cutting point of view they're very similar - difficult to cut!
Laser Cut Copper
We can only process this up to 3mm thick - this is due to its high reflectivity and thermal conductivity; features that make it an excellent material for electrical conductivity, but dreadful for cutting with a thermal process!
Laser Cut Brass
A little easier to process - we can cut up to 6mm thick, but it takes a lot of skill and power to make sure the edge quality is spot-on. We can also cut other copper alloys such as bronze, so please get in touch if you want a particular material processing.
Typical applications range from lighting fixtures through parts for chemical plants, to point-of-sale components.
- Examples
- Technical
- Quality
Brass cut for the 2008 Klimt Exhibition at the Tate Modern. We also cut various murals and features based on his Art - beautiful stuff!
Laser Cut Brass parts for a Model Train - the parts are left tagged together (like an Airfix kit) so the modelmaker is not hunting in the box for each component. Parts for model trains, planes and automobiles is a major application for laser cutting, and we cut pieces every week.
Contemporary Art using a combination of materials, including Laser Cut Brass and Copper. Each piece is unique and designed specifically for its location. The use of the highly reflective metals adds another dimension to the piece, and emphasises the 3D effect.
Brass, and particularly copper are very expensive materials, so the application has to justify their use, either from an aesthetic or engineering perspective.
Copper Dogtags laser cut and left tagged into the sheet to assist the secondary engraving process. These were used as promotional items / business cards and really stood out as something different.
You can see some edge discolouration around the tags - this is common with laser cut copper as we have to use a huge amount of power to cut the material.
Maximum Component Size |
3000x1500mm (but usually limited by sheet size of 2000x1000mm) |
Minimum Component Size |
Very Small - depends on material thickness |
Maximum Thickness |
Brass - 6mm / Copper - 3mm / Others - Please ask us |
Minimum Thickness |
<0.5mm |
Minimum Detail |
Detail should not be less than the material thickness e.g. minimum 3mm diameter hole in 3mm thick material |
General Cutting Tolerance |
>3mm - +/-0.1mm |
Effects of Thermal Cutting |
The cut edge on thinner sections is smooth - the edge quality degrades as thickness increases. Discolouration of the material can occur. |
Common Grades Stocked |
CZ108 Brass & C106 Copper. There are lots of others - tell us what you need and we'll try to find it. |
Common Sheet Sizes |
2000x1000mm, possibly less |
Common Applications |
Decorative products / special engineering components / electrical / others |
A close-up image of the edge of laser cut Brass (various thicknesses). You can clearly see the discolouration due to the amount of power we have to use. Remember this is a macro shot so the effect is exaggerated, but we like you to know what you're getting!