Laser Tube Cutting

Laser tube cutting uses a focused laser to cut, notch, and slot tubes and profiles with high accuracy, complex geometry, and minimal fixturing in one setup.

Overview

Laser tube cutting (tube laser) uses a CNC-controlled laser to cut round, square, rectangular, and structural tubes in a single automated setup. The machine rotates and feeds the tube while the laser produces end profiles, copes, slots, holes, and tabs with tight positional accuracy. This eliminates multiple saw, drilling, and milling operations and reduces fixture complexity.

Choose laser tube cutting when you need precise joints, tab-and-slot assemblies, copes for weld prep, or large patterns of holes in tube or pipe. It excels at repeatable production from low to high volume, especially for welded frames and structures where cut accuracy drives assembly time. Tradeoffs: higher per-hour machine cost than basic cutting, limits on maximum tube size and wall thickness, and potential issues cutting highly reflective alloys without the right equipment. For simple, straight cuts on commodity tube, lower-tech methods may be more economical.

Common Materials

  • Mild steel tube
  • Stainless steel 304 tube
  • Aluminum 6061 tube
  • Stainless steel 316 tube
  • Carbon steel structural tube

Tolerances

±0.005"

Applications

  • Welded machine frames and bases
  • Furniture and architectural tube structures
  • Automotive and motorcycle frames and exhausts
  • Material handling and conveyor frames
  • Exercise equipment frames
  • Signage and display structures

When to Choose Laser Tube Cutting

Use laser tube cutting when your part is primarily tube or structural profiles that need accurate miters, copes, slots, or hole patterns in one setup. It’s ideal when assembly fit-up, weld time, and repeatability matter more than rock-bottom cut cost, and when you have recurring production or families of similar tube parts.

vs Saw Cutting

Choose laser tube cutting instead of saw cutting when you need more than simple straight or miter cuts—such as slots, holes, copes, or tab-and-slot joints in the tube. Laser also makes sense when you want better positional accuracy and repeatability across medium to high volumes, or when you’d otherwise need secondary drilling and milling operations after sawing.

vs Abrasive Cutting

Pick laser tube cutting over abrasive cutting when edge quality, precision, and heat input control are important for downstream welding or assembly. Laser cutting reduces burrs and cleanup, holds tighter tolerances on complex cutouts, and is better suited for CNC automation on long production runs than manual abrasive saws or cutoff wheels.

vs CNC machining

Use laser tube cutting instead of CNC machining when the part geometry can be achieved by cutting standard tube or profiles rather than hogging from solid. The tube laser will usually deliver lower cost, shorter cycle times, and less fixturing for features like side holes, slots, and end profiles along tube lengths.

vs Flat laser cutting

Choose laser tube cutting over flat laser cutting when the raw material is tubular or structural rather than sheet. Tube lasers can cut features around the circumference and along the length in one pass, whereas using flat laser then forming/welding would add processes, variation, and fixture cost.

vs Waterjet Cutting

Select laser tube cutting instead of waterjet when you need higher throughput on standard metals and can accept a small heat-affected zone. Tube lasers generally run faster, produce cleaner edges without abrasive cleanup, and integrate material handling better for long tube lengths than rotary waterjet setups.

Design Considerations

  • Use standard tube and structural sizes that fit common tube laser chucks and rotation ranges; confirm max OD, profile size, and length with the shop early
  • Avoid very small holes and slots; keep minimum feature size at least 1.2–1.5× material thickness to prevent distortion and poor edge quality
  • Design tab-and-slot joints with realistic clearance that accounts for laser kerf and material variation so assemblies self-locate without forcing
  • Only tighten tolerances where function or assembly demands it; excessive GD&T on non-critical cut features drives cost and slows quoting
  • Provide a clean 3D model of the tube with all cut geometry on the tube surface, or a native tube-laser-ready model, and clearly identify datums and orientation
  • Limit extremely long, thin tubes with tight positional tolerances over full length, or add design features (stops, datums) that make fixturing and inspection practical