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A three-dimensional (3D) laser cut is like a normal laser cut, except that the laser can recognize all sides of a substrate, not just the face of the substrate. Unlike two-dimensional (2D) laser cutting, a 3D laser cutter is generally capable of working with a cube or other large substrate shape, not just a flat piece of material. The substrate itself can be made of many different types of materials, including glass, crystal, metal, and wood. Other cutting methods can only cut the surface of the material, but the laser can be set to cut inside the material, which is most commonly used with glass.
One aspect of a 3D laser cut is that the cutting machine can recognize all sides of the substrate. With a 2D laser cutter, the machine can only cut and recognize the face of the material. The 3D method allows the cutter to specifically go through, cut and shape the substrate as needed for the loaded design, allowing the machine to create much more complex shapes and designs.
2D laser cutters can normally only cut a flat piece of material, but a 3D laser cut can be done on a thick piece of material, such as a cube or sphere. As well as the ability to recognize all sides of the substrate, this allows the machine to perform much more complex cuts compared to a 2D machine. At the same time, there are some cheaper 3D laser cutters that don’t have this capability.
Many different materials can be used with a 3D laser cutting machine, and each material has a different purpose. Wood can be made into furniture pieces or decorative items, glass and crystal can be made into shapes, and metal can be made into parts or printed circuit boards (PCBs). This can usually be done with 2D laser cutters as well, because lasers tend to be versatile cutters.
A unique aspect of a 3D laser cut is the ability to go beyond the surface of the substrate. This allows the cutter to cut below the surface without leaving scratches on the surface of the material. It is usually made of crystal and glass, and a 3D image is etched into the center of the material. Wood can also be used for this; sometimes the wood is made and then opened to reveal the interior design, but this is not as common as glass.