Like CNC routers, a CNC machine guides the laser cutter. ... It is a non-contact, thermal-based process that employs a focused, high-powered laser beam that cuts custom shapes and designs from stock material. There is no custom-designed tooling required, either. Cutting relies on heat to perform precision cuts.

Is a CNC a laser cutter?

A CNC device is, in essence, a tool programmed to receive and interpret designs from a computer and thereby guide a cutter – usually a router bit or a laser. The machine often resembles a rectangular table fitted with two parallel tracks running the length of the surface (the X-axis).

Which is better CNC or laser cutter?

And laser cutting gives you very clean vertical lines but also with discoloration, and limited to thin materials, while CNC cutting allows you to work through thick materials and to cut to very specific depths to form truly three dimensional objects.