The fundamentals
If you are new to this, start here. These pages answer what the machine is, what it actually does to a material, and what the vocabulary means — deliberately before any decision about buying, teaching, or safety. Everything here is machine-agnostic: it describes how the process works, not how any one product behaves.
Read the safety section before anyone runs a job
Understanding how a laser works is not the same as knowing how to operate one safely in a room full of students. Fire, fumes, supervision, and approved materials are covered separately, and none of it is optional.
The basics, in order
What is a laser cutter?
The plain definition, and where the machine fits in a larger design-and-make workflow.
How does a laser cutter work?
Making the beam, focusing and moving it, and clearing heat, smoke, and debris.
Is a laser cutter the same as a laser engraver?
Usually the same machine, but two different processes — and why the product name proves nothing.
Cutting, engraving, scoring, etching, marking — what is the difference?
Five words that are not standardized across software and manufacturers, sorted by the result you want.
CO₂, diode, fiber, and UV — what is the difference?
What the source type does and does not tell you about capability or safety.
What do power, speed, frequency, and passes mean?
Four controls that interact as one, not four independent sliders.
How is a laser cutter different from a 3D printer?
Subtractive versus additive, and what that changes about material, time, and planning.
What is the workflow from student idea to finished object?
The full loop — define, design, check, verify material, run, inspect, revise.
Where to go next
- Grades 6–12 and CTE — running a laser in a classroom with a full class and one machine.
- Higher education — shared lab operating models, authorization, and process records.
- Design and file prep — the file skills students actually need before their first job.
- The full FAQ library — every question in one browsable place.