Cutlasercut is a design manufacturer that specialises in fast turnaround production services in a number of sectors, including creative fields such as art, fashion, jewellery and architecture, as well as engineering, retail and sign making.
Originally set up as a laser cutting business in 2010, the company invested in a CNC routing machine in 2017 to expand its service offering.
CutLaserCut Ltd operates out of two facilities with a single Trotec Speedy 400 laser at its Camberwell site and a larger production studio with six CO2 lasers at its South Coast facility. The largest laser machine offers a working area of 3 by 2m whilst the Biesse ROVER PLAST J FT 1530 CNC routing machine that arrived in 2017 offers a work envelope of 3m by 1.6m,
Combining laser technology with the router, CutLaserCut can process everything from cast acrylic sheets to plywood, 'organic' materials, plastics, wood and wooden boards, card, paper, leather, foam and much more. It was the arrival of the router that opened opportunities to machine new materials with a technology that was new to the London and South Coast manufacturer.
Russ Mellor from CutLaserCut said: “We were originally a laser cutting business, but we purchased the Biesse CNC router to expand the range of materials that we could work with. Biesse is not a specialist in cutting tools, so we visited the Sign UK exhibition where we met Sally Hunt from ITC. We were immediately impressed with her depth of knowledge and helpful attitude. Since 2017, Sally and the ITC team have been a fabulous resource that we've been happy to rely on. A trusted partner in all aspects of CNC tooling.”
As a company that specialises in delivering a fast response to demanding sectors, CutLaserCut can rapidly turn around anything from simple B2C parts, one-offs and specialist projects to more involved B2B product development and production runs. To satisfy client demands with rapid lead times, CutLaserCut relies on high-quality cutting tools from ITC for machining a vast array of materials. In a fast-paced environment, CutLaserCut needs maximum machine uptime and optimal productivity levels. To enable this, ITC supports CutLaserCut with a diverse range of standard and bespoke tooling solutions that provide quality, performance, reliability and longevity. The performance and tool life are optimised by expert advice from ITC that identifies the correct tool, geometry and coating for any given material.
Russ added: “Whenever a new project arrives or if there is a machining technique that is required, we can call or email ITC and ask for the best advice about tooling. This includes the feed rates, number of passes and other technical details.”
“Most recently, ITC provided us with a 12mm radius point round cutter for a new technique that an established client wanted to try. Sally was able to propose the tool based on a photo of the effect the client was trying to achieve. She got it spot on and the tool did exactly what was needed. The total time from the client request to quote to the delivery of the final parts was just 7 days including the selection, manufacture and delivery of the ITC point round cutter. Standard tooling is available on a next day basis, even if ordered late in the day.
“Because we are a subcontract manufacturer, we rarely make the same thing twice, unless it's a production run. Therefore, it’s of critical importance that our tooling works right the first time and keeps working with high levels of productivity and reliability until the job is done. We are always working on tight turnaround projects, so we can't be dealing with tooling not performing and time being lost in re-specifying or replacement tooling that could delay an entire project.”
Photo: CutLaserCut tests on MDF with ITC’s point round tool proved a huge success