You have a customer who needs a job yesterday and you've had to replace the router bit 3 times already. The project is behind schedule and over-budget. Sound familiar? There is a better way!

It's time to discover the power of a laser.

Everybody "knows" that lasers do a great job cutting acrylic with leaving highly polished edges in one pass, far better than those "cut" by routers. But not everybody knows that lasers can also do a fantastic job with most of the traditional materials used in today's sign and printing world. In fact, by using the latest laser technology, Vytek solutions change the speed barriers normally associated with cutting and finishing of sign materials and printed graphics. Lasers are more accurate and faster than the fastest knife cutting/router systems available. Vytek Laser System Solutions help you reduce costs and improve productivity because they:

• Provide polished edges for acrylic in one pass up to 1" thick with no need for the hand clean-up typically required by traditional routers.
• Kiss-cut sticky back vinyl, static cling polypropylene and a host of other common materials with no skipping and easier to pull graphics that will not rip.
• Provide etching and 3D engraving of wooden signs with extraordinary detail, compared to etching accomplished with a router.
• Etch glass and acrylic panels /dividers with more detail than sandblasting, offering Sign Shop's a variety of options for their customer base.

ADVANTAGES OF A 

LASER SOLUTION

• Non-contact cutting and engraving has no consumable costs for router bits, and provides for cleaner edges.
• More detailed engraving is possible on more materials and in smaller sizes without the time impact of changing router bits mid job to achieve finer detail.
• With no bit width, the laser is able to achieve higher density cutting that saves 40% on materials with faster cutting times.
• Small items take significantly longer to produce using the smallest router bits and still cannot achieve the tight patterns, such as serifs on smaller letters or detailed etching.
• For acrylic, the laser achieves one step operation with polished edges. No flame polishing or secondary action on cut pieces after cutting is necessary for polished edges.
• Set-up time is reduced with the laser solution.
• Inlaid parts can be cut from the same file.
• Coroplast® can be accurately cut smoothly without any uncut flute showing or flattened edges due to flute orientation on the cut path.
• Laser cutting does not produce chips or sawdust, offering a much cleaner operation.

DISADVANTAGES OF A 

ROUTER SYSTEM

• A router needs tooling. An average user can spend $3,000 or more per year on router bits to maintain quality and throughput.
• Router bits have a physical size of 1/8" to ½" for most sign projects, leavings a wide kerf and limiting the corner radius of designs.
• Routers produce debris and chips, which must be extracted and disposed of, adding maintenance and removal costs of over $250/year.
• Routers require a hold down method for the material, usually a vacuum system. Vacuum pumps can add upwards of $3000/year in electricity costs.
• Routers give limits to the size of items that it can produce, based on the tool size or the size of the item being routed, due to hold down limitations.
• Routers typically purchased by Sign shops typically require a secondary finishing process due to the rough/sharp edges that are produced. A secondary finishing process typically doubles the production time and cost. Over a full year, this added cost could add $21,000 to your expenses.

Conclusion

When shopping around for your next system, keep these tips in mind. Lasers are engineered for precision cutting & etching faster and with higher quality than with any other method.

Have more tips or some thoughts about these? Join the conversation and leave your comment below.

Vytek has solved thousands of unique application challenges over its 26 year history of manufacturing CO2 and Fiber laser cutting, marking and engraving machines. Call us to discuss yours: 978-342-9800.