Updated: 1 May, 2025
When purchasing a custom fire pit, metal garden screens or any metal product with a cutout design or pattern, it’s always best to look for a company that uses a high-quality laser cutter to do the work, rather than the cheaper plasma cutter or water jet machine.
Although more affordable, a water jet or plasma cutter is much more suited to industrial applications, and can cut through some incredibly thick material. The difference in quality between these and a laser cut is clearly noticeable, with the laser cutter making a much cleaner style of cut, leaving no rough edges on the design. A laser cut fire pit is simply better quality.
What is a laser cutter?
Most of us know of lasers from sci-fi movies or use in technical equipment, but the word ‘laser’ stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation and is an incredibly versatile tool!
Using an extremely focused beam of high-intensity light that is invisible to the human eye, our machine creates an accurate and the laser beam itself travels from the laser resonator down to the material, in our case, this material is 4mm Bluescope steel.
Also flowing through that nozzle bore is Nitrogen or Oxygen gas, to help clear out the molten steel as the machine makes the cuts.
| Criteria | Laser Cutter | Plasma Cutter |
|---|---|---|
| Accuracy | High precision, typically with tolerances of ±0.1mm | Lower precision, with tolerances of ±1-2mm |
| Cut Edge Quality | Smooth, clean edges with minimal finishing required | Rougher edges with more finishing needed |
| Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) | Small HAZ, leading to less distortion and warping | Larger HAZ, leading to more material distortion |
| Cutting Speed | Slower compared to plasma for thick materials | Faster for thicker materials but less precise |
| Material Thickness | Best for thinner materials (up to 25mm) | Can cut thicker materials (up to 150mm) |
| Surface Finish | High-quality surface finish, ideal for intricate designs | Rougher surface finish, may require more post-processing |
| Kerf Width | Narrow kerf (typically <0.1mm) | Wider kerf (usually 1-3mm) |
| Edge Deformation | Minimal deformation due to precise focus | More deformation due to high heat input |
| Ideal Materials | Best for metals, plastics, wood, and thin sheets | Best for thicker metals, particularly steel |
| Post-Processing | Minimal to no post-processing needed | Requires more post-processing to smooth edges |
The type of laser machine that we use here are MAX Fire Pits is a top of the range industrial laser cutter that is an absolute beast of a thing! Valued at close to half a million dollars, it produces a high-quality accurate cut that gives the very best results for our clients. If you compare the end results, you can see the difference!
Why are laser-cut fire pits better?
Put simply, the accuracy and the consistency of our machine gives us the sharpest, neatest laser cut reproduction of the artwork. Check out our range of Outdoor Fire Pits to see the difference!
Check out our blog post on how to reduce smoke from your laser cut fire pit.
