Why laser cutting?

Just like any method of manufacturing, laser cutting has its Pros and Cons.

Pros:
Lasers are particularly good at detailed or repetitive cutting where the minimum amount of wasted material is thrown out.

Material that is laser cut can be as delicate as the thinnest tissue paper because no physical part of the laser actually touches the material.

Material can be stacked so multiple parts can be cut with one pass of the laser beam.

The laser beam is about 3 thousandths of an inch thick. This means that almost no material is removed when it cuts through it. A typical knife blade is about 8 times that thickness, and a saw blade can be anywhere from 1/16" up to over 1/8".

A laser can cut in ways that no other method can. As an example, a composite material like laminate foam board can be perfectly cut with no tearing or melting.

The detail a laser can cut is unmatched by any other method. Parts can be cut so fine that there is literally a hair width of material remaining once it is done.

The repeat-ability of the cutting is so perfect that a part cut today would be exactly the same as a part cut a week or a year later.

Cons:
The laser is designed for fine detail so cutting a piece of 1/2 inch thick plywood for your house is best done with a saw.

Depending on the complexity of a drawing, the time the laser takes can add up in cost.

Thicker materials take longer to cut and use more power than thinner ones.

Lasers do not like certain materials. for example, pre manufactured carbon or graphite sheets with resin do not cut well. Also poly-carbonates (while they can be cut) do not take the heat the laser generates well, and will often discolor.

Certain materials give off poisonous gasses when cutting. Something like PVC gives off chlorine gas that is not good for your health. Most laser cutters will not cut materials like this without proper ventilation.