Cut parts from plywood, acrylic, leather and felt
We cut plywood up to 8 mm and acrylic up to 10 mm, plus leather, felt and cork. The cut edge comes out sealed and needs no sanding. From 1 piece, made in Rottach-Egern.
Three cases that come in regularly
From the trades: the jig
A drill guide or a stop block from 6 mm plywood. Same dimensions across the run, so the twelfth piece sits like the first.
From gastronomy: the menu board
A board in wood or acrylic, usable outdoors, with a cutout for the daily sheet. The frame stays for years, the sheet changes.
From the club: signs and numbers
Course signs, bib number carriers, signs for the clubhouse. Cut from acrylic so they survive a winter outdoors.
What laser cutting is good for
From a single part to a short run — made in the valley, collectable in Rottach-Egern.
Front panels and bezels
Acrylic or plywood with cut-outs for switches, displays and sockets — matched to the board instead of filed by hand.
Enclosures and inlays
Slot-together plywood enclosures, foam and felt inlays for cases, tool shadow boards in rigid foam.
Signs, decor, gifts
Name plates, place signs, tree ornaments, cake toppers — single pieces included.
Samples before series
A cut in cardboard takes minutes and settles the fit before expensive stock goes into the machine.
Diode laser material list
The diode laserDiode LaserA laser type that generates light using semiconductor diodes. Diode lasers are compact and suitable for engraving and cutting many materials. In the tolinax Think Tank, the diode laser complements… works with blue light at 450 nm. Dark and organic materials absorb it well — clear plastics do not absorb it at all. That is why acrylic appears here only in its tinted form.
| Material | Thickness (cut) | Edge | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plywood (poplar, birch) | up to 6 mm | slightly browned | several passes above 4 mm, darker on the back |
| Bare MDF | up to 5 mm | dark brown | strong smell; we only cut uncoated MDF |
| Solid wood (lime, alder, balsa) | up to 4 mm | browned | knots and resin cause uneven depth |
| Craft plywood / veneer | 0.4–2 mm | fine, clean | ideal for delicate ornaments |
| Cardboard, greyboard, Finnish board | up to 3 mm | dark cut edge | model making, stencils, packaging samples |
| Paper, photo card | up to 400 gsm | clean | invitations, lace patterns, die samples |
| Vegetable-tanned leather | up to 3 mm | sealed | we do not cut chrome-tanned leather (chromium VI risk) |
| Wool felt | up to 5 mm | fused, does not fray | coasters, inlays, bags |
| Cork | up to 4 mm | clean | coasters, pin boards, damping parts |
| Cotton, denim, canvas | up to approx. 1 mm | slightly browned | synthetic blends melt — sample first |
| BLACK / dark tinted acrylic | up to 3 mm | matt, not polish-clear | tinted only — see the warning below |
| Dark ABS / PS sheet | up to 2 mm | slightly melted | by sample only, produces smoke |
CO2 laser material list
The CO2 laserCO2 LaserA gas laser that works with a carbon-dioxide mixture and is especially suited to non-metallic materials such as wood, acrylic, leather and paper. In the tolinax Think Tank, the CO2 laser is used for… works at 10.6 µm. Practically every non-metallic material absorbs this wavelength — clear acrylic and glass included. It cuts thicker, faster and with a squarer edge.
| Material | Thickness (cut) | Edge | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cast acrylic (GS) | up to 10 mm | polish-clear, flame-polished | the CO2 laser's signature material |
| Extruded acrylic (XT) | up to 8 mm | clear, slightly less glossy than GS | cheaper, engraves whiter |
| Plywood (poplar, birch) | up to 8 mm | evenly browned | clean, square edge |
| Bare MDF | up to 8 mm | dark brown | dimensionally stable, good for stencils |
| Solid wood | up to 6 mm | browned | depends on density and resin content |
| Veneer | 0.4–1.5 mm | fine | inlays, marquetry |
| Paper, board, corrugated board | up to 5 mm | clean | packaging samples, displays |
| Vegetable-tanned leather | up to 4 mm | sealed | bags, belts, tags |
| Wool felt | up to 6 mm | fused | inlays, coasters |
| Cork | up to 6 mm | clean | also as gasket material |
| Textiles (cotton, felt, fleece) | up to 2 mm | sealed | appliques, stencils |
| Laser-grade rubber (stamp rubber) | up to 3 mm | clean | stamp plates, gaskets |
| EVA foam | up to 10 mm | clean | case inlays, tool shadow boards |
| Depron / XPS | up to 6 mm | fused | model making |
What we deliberately do not cut — and why
This list is not convenience. Every entry has a concrete reason: a health hazard, damage to the machine, or simply an unusable result. Please do not bring such parts in the first place.
| Material | Reason |
|---|---|
| PVC / rigid PVC / vinyl | Releases hydrogen chloride, which becomes hydrochloric acid with moisture. Attacks lungs, optics and machine. |
| Polycarbonate (Makrolon, Lexan) | Burns instead of cutting: brown, scorched edge, heavy smoke. No usable result. |
| PTFE / Teflon | Releases hydrogen fluoride — highly toxic. |
| Light ABS, thick polystyrene | Melts and strings instead of cutting; releases hydrogen cyanide. |
| Glass fibre (GRP), carbon (CFRP) | Epoxy fumes and glass dust — harmful, and they dull the optics. |
| Galvanised or coated sheet metal | Zinc oxide fume (metal fume fever). We do not cut metal at all. |
| Glass, mirrors, mirrored film | Glass cracks; mirrors reflect the beam back uncontrolled. |
| CLEAR acrylic on the diode laser | The blue beam passes straight through — it is not absorbed. Only the CO2 laser cuts clear acrylic. |
| Metal on either machine | The power is not enough to separate metal. We mark metal, we do not cut it — see laser engravingLaser EngravingMachining a material with a focused laser beam that engraves, marks or cuts surfaces. Different laser types are used depending on the material. The tolinax Think Tank offers a diode laser and a CO2…. |
Not sure what your material is? Bring an offcut. A test cut on a 20×20 mm sample costs you nothing and answers the question in two minutes.
File requirements
A clean file saves you money: what we do not have to rework does not appear on the invoice either.
| Item | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Format | SVG preferred, alternatively DXF (R12/2000), AI, EPS or vector PDF |
| Cut lines | Hairline or 0.01–0.1 mm width, colour red (255,0,0) |
| Engraved areas | Colour black (0,0,0), filled — rastered by the head |
| Score lines | Colour blue (0,0,255), hairline — marks without separating |
| Paths | Closed, no duplicates stacked on top of each other (they would be cut twice) |
| Type | Convert to paths before export — we do not have your font |
| Scale | 1:1 in millimetres. Document size = material size |
| Minimum web width | ≥ 1.5 mm in wood, ≥ 1 mm in acrylic — thinner breaks or burns |
| Minimum hole | ≥ material thickness (so ≥ 3 mm Ø in 3 mm wood) |
| KerfKerfThe width of material the laser beam vaporises while separating — 0.1 to 0.3 mm depending on the material. Press fits have to allow for it, otherwise the part sits too loose. | 0.1–0.3 mm depending on material — allow for it in press fits |
| Work area | Diode laser 400×400 mm, CO2 laser 600×300 mm |
No vector file, just a sketch or a photo? Send it anyway — redrawing is a small line item, not a deal breaker.
The recurring mistake in laser files: open contours. What looks like a closed line on screen can carry a gap of 0.01 mm. The laser then runs it as two separate paths. Close the paths before you export, or send the file and we check it.
Frequently asked questions about laser cutting
Because clear acrylic is transparent to blue light at 450 nm — the beam passes through without depositing energy. The CO2 laser works at 10.6 micrometres, a wavelength acrylic does absorb. That is why acrylic appears in both lists, but with a different outcome.
On the CO2 laser, 10 mm cast acrylic and 8 mm plywood are the limit; on the diode laser, 6 mm plywood. Thicker stock does not cut cleanly — the edge goes bevelled and heavily burnt. For thicker parts we mill or laminate several layers.
The price follows three figures: material, cut length and quantity. A coaster in 3 mm plywood is a low single-digit amount; a front panel in 5 mm acrylic is considerably more. Send the file — you get a concrete price instead of a flat rate.
Yes, gladly — as long as it is not on the do-not-cut list. If in doubt bring an offcut and we run a test cut first. We do not cut unidentified plastics without a material declaration.
The kerf is 0.1 to 0.3 mm depending on material, with repeatability in the tenths of a millimetre. For press fits we allow for the kerf — just tell us whether it should sit tight or slide easily.
Single parts in stocked material often the same or next day. Short runs and special materials take longer because we order the stock. Pickup in Rottach-Egern, shipping on request.
Send the file — we cut.
Material, thickness, quantity and your SVG or DXF file are enough for a firm quote.
Request a cut part