Laser cutting at the Bollinger Digital Fabrication Lab, Holman Biotech Commons

1) Before your appointment

• Save your design as a .ai file formatted according to our Guidelines. For step-by-step instructions on how to format your design use our Formatting Guide  
  • Guidelines Summary

    • Use our Adobe Illustrator Template

    • Cut Lines have a stroke width of 0.001 pts 

    • Etch Lines have a stroke width greater than 0.001 pts 

    • Etch Shapes are solid filled objects 

    • Text are objects/paths 

    • Organize design parts in template’s Cut and Etch folders 

    • Optimize design placement for minimal material waste 

    • One artboard per appointment 

2) Schedule your appointment

If you cannot make your appointment, please email us as soon as possible so we can open the slot for someone else.

3) When you arrive

• Come to the Judith & William Bollinger Digital Fabrication Lab (G22, Holman Biotech Commons) at your appointment time. Please be on time - any delays will cut into your laser-cutting time allowance. 
• We will load your file onto our workstation and review the file with you to make sure it is formatted correctly. It is up to you to make sure the file looks the way you want it before you arrive.  We will not be responsible for errors that are consistent with the file.  

4) Cost and materials

• Our laser cutting service is free for academic, research and clinical use
• We currently supply 1/8" and 1/4" acrylic in black and clear free of charge in limited quantities
• You may also bring your own materials that are on our Approved Materials List. Please bring the product information or listing where you purchased the material so we may verify it's components. If your material is not on our list, email us at lasercuttingupenn@gmail.com

You can bring your own materials to use on the laser cutter, permitting it is on our list of Approved Materials. Please bring the product information and or listing with you so that we can verify the composition of the material. We reserve the right to refuse to cut any materials without proper documentation verifying it's composition.

Approved Materials

* can only be engraved, 

• Acrylic
• Fiberboard
• Non-Pressure Treated Wood
• Cardstock
• Natural Leather
• Cork*
• Anodized Aluminum*
• Painted/Powder Coated Metal*

Banned Materials

• Rubber
• Casting Resins
• ABS
• Polypropylene
• Polycarbonate
• Polyethylene
• Polyvinylchloride (PVC)
• Vinyl
• Neoprene
• Anything Containing Chlorine
• Foam Core
• Polystyrene
• Corrugated Cardboard
• Fiberglass
• Carbon Fiber
• Teflon
• Pressure Treated Wood
• Mirrored Surfaces

If you don't see your materials on our approved or banned list, please email us so that we may assess if your material can be safely cut on our machines.