Cutting processes compared: laser vs waterjet cutting and more
Six metal cutting processes. One of them fits your part.
Material, thickness, tolerance, and volume decide the process, not preference. This page puts the common metal cutting processes side by side, starting with the question we hear most: laser vs waterjet cutting. Not sure which one fits? Send the print and let us pick — the quote comes back with the routing already decided.
Fastest cutting
Fiber laser
Thickest cut
Waterjet
Tightest tolerance
Milling, ±0.001″
No heat-affected zone
Waterjet
The short version
Three rules that cover most parts
Edge cases exist and we will tell you when yours is one. Start here.
Sheet metal, any volume
Start with laser
From thin gauge up past 1″, fiber laser is the cheapest and fastest route to a clean edge. It is the default for most sheet metal work and the reason lead times stay short.
Thick, exotic, or heat-sensitive
Consider waterjet
Past what a laser will cut, or when a heat-affected zone is unacceptable, waterjet is the process to look at. It is slower and more expensive per part, but it leaves the material unchanged. AST no longer runs waterjet in-house, so if your part truly needs it, we will say so at the quote stage.
Soft material, machined details
Look at routing
If the part needs tapping, countersinking, counterboring, or milled detail alongside the profile, the router does all of it in one setup instead of three.
Side by side
Metal cutting processes in one table
Tolerances are typical achievable figures, not guarantees on every geometry. Cost and turnaround are relative to each other rather than absolute.
| Process | Part cost | Part precision | Turnaround | Material restrictions | Distortion or stress | Cut quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laser | Lower | ±0.002″ | Fastest | No | No | Smooth |
| Waterjet | Higher | ±0.010″ | Slower | No | No | Smooth |
| Routing | Lower | ±0.003″ | Faster on thinner material | Yes | No | Smooth |
| Milling | Lower | ±0.001″ | Slower | No | Yes | Smooth |
| Wire EDM | Higher | ±0.001″ | 75% slower | Yes | Yes | Smooth |
| Punch press | Higher on low volume | ±0.005″ | Fastest | Yes | Yes | Smooth edges |
Laser, punch, routing, and machining run in house at AST. Waterjet and wire EDM are included so the comparison is complete, not because we run them.
Head to head
Laser vs waterjet cutting, and the other matchups we get asked about
Most quotes come down to one of these three decisions. Here is how we make each one.
Heat vs thickness
Laser vs waterjet
In laser vs waterjet cutting, thickness and heat decide it. Under about 1″ in steel, laser wins on cost and speed and holds the tighter tolerance. Over that thickness, or on any part where a heat-affected zone would fail inspection or complicate welding, waterjet is the better process. Laminates, composites, and stone are typically waterjet jobs as well.
Volume vs edge quality
Fiber laser vs punch press
A punch press needs dedicated tooling and leaves a burred edge, so it only pays off at high volume with simple, repeated hole patterns. Fiber laser needs no tooling, changes over in minutes, and cuts any profile with a clean edge. For prototypes, short runs, and complex geometry, laser is the better choice. When a part needs formed features like louvers or embosses, our punch and laser combination machine does both in one pass.
Setups vs tolerance
Routing vs milling
Both give a machined edge. The router handles flat parts in aluminum, plastics, and composites on a vacuum bed with almost no fixturing, which keeps cost down. The mill takes over when the part is thick, the material is hard, or the print calls for ±0.001″. If a flat aluminum part only needs holes tapped and edges finished, routing is usually the cheaper route to the same result.
Process detail
Where each process earns its place
Speed and cost per part
Fiber laser cutting
Fiber laser cuts every material we handle across thin and thick gauges, from light sheet up past 1″ in steel, and holds sharper detail and tighter tolerances than most alternatives. Laser cutting tolerances of ±0.002″ to ±0.003″ are typical, and the machine positions to 0.002″.
Paired with a material loading system and a parts-picking robot, the laser runs unattended around the clock. Setup is quick, the operation stays flexible, and machine time costs less to begin with, which is why laser work carries the lowest part cost on the table above.
- Cutting feed rates to 9,000 in/min
- Rapid feed rates to 13,300 in/min
- Positioning accuracy of 0.002″
- One third the energy draw of other cutting machines
Thickness and material range
Waterjet cutting
High-pressure water and abrasive cut through effectively any material at effectively any thickness. The head never touches the work, so precise shapes and tight angles come off the table cleanly, and because the process is computer-controlled, cutting more parts adds almost no setup time.
The decisive difference in laser vs waterjet cutting is heat. A laser leaves a heat-affected edge; a waterjet leaves none. If your part will be welded, machined further, or inspected against a spec that rules out a heat-affected zone, that matters more than cost per part.
- Cuts plate well beyond laser thickness limits
- No thermal distortion or edge hardening
- Holds laser-comparable tolerances on thin material
- Relative accuracy improves as material gets thicker
Included for comparison — not run in-house
Detail in a single setup
CNC router cutting
Routing gives a machined edge and machined detail on softer materials, the finish of milling without moving the part to a mill. Tapping, countersinking, counterboring, and milled features all come off in the same setup as the profile.
The vacuum bed is what keeps it economical. Expensive fixturing is rarely needed, setups finish quickly, and the work runs on basic tooling, so a job that would carry fixture cost on another machine often does not here.
- Machined edge quality on soft materials
- Multiple operations in one setup
- Vacuum bed removes most fixturing cost
- Material restrictions apply. Ask before you commit
We now deliver across Dallas and Fort Worth, Waco, Austin, Mineral Wells, and Houston
Ask about delivery when you request your next quote and we will price it into the job.
After the cut
Cutting is the first operation, not the last
Forming, assembly, and CAD/CAM programming all run in the same building, so a cut part does not have to leave the shop to become a finished one.
Complete CAD/CAM programming services are available for putting your project into production.
Let the print decide
Send the geometry with your quantity and material. The quote comes back with the process we plan to run and why, so you never have to pick between metal cutting processes yourself.
1000 Avenue N, Grand Prairie TX 75050 · (972) 554-0383 · ast@astmfg.com