Laser Cutting vs. 3D Printing: Key Differences & How to Choose

Laser cutting and 3D printing are two very popular services we offer at Xometry. Laser cutting uses a high-powered laser beam to cut flat sheets of material, typically metal, into different shapes. With 3D printing, CAD models are sliced into 2D cross-sections and built up one layer at a time until the part is complete. Laser cutting is suited to flat sheet fabrications, whereas 3D printing can produce plastic, or even metal, products of almost any geometry.

Despite being two very different technologies, both are useful in their own rights. In this article, we will cover how 3D printing and laser cutting work, their advantages, disadvantages and the materials they can work in. Let's dig in!

3D Printing Definition and Comparison to Laser Cutting

As mentioned in the intro, 3D printing is a process used to build up parts one layer at a time via the addition of material (plastic or metal). Its first documented iterations can be traced back to the early 1980s in Japan. Hideo Kodama developed a rapid prototyping system using a photosensitive resin polymerized by UV light, what we now know as the SLA 3D printing processs. Over the years, many other 3D printing technologies Xometry offers, such as FDM, SLS, DMLS, PolyJet, and more, have been developed. FDM extrudes material through a nozzle and lays it down onto a build plate and then onto each subsequent layer. SLS and DMLS, on the other hand, use powerful lasers to sinter or fuse particles of powdered material one slice at a time until the part is complete. No matter the method used, all 3D printing processes are considered additive technologies, unlike laser cutting, which cuts parts out from existing sheet stock, making it a subtractive process. For more information on additive manufacturing, see our guide on what is 3D printing.

Xometry offers the ability to custom 3D print parts for your needs. A metal print made through Xometry's DMLS 3D printing service can be seen in the image below: