A quote begins by filling out our standard intake form. We’ll ask a few questions such as what material(s) we’re cutting on and any special requirements you have. You’ll also submit your cut files and specify the desired quantity for each part. 

Once you submit the intake form, a member of our Cut Team will review your job and respond back with a detailed quote or provide guidance on anything that needs to be fixed. Eventually, this process will all be automated, but for now, quoting involves a human. Our cost structure is shown below:

Order and job minimum charge    

• $150 excluding fabric/material costs

• Note that a “job” is defined per material. This means that if you’re cutting on more than one material, the minimum charge will be $150 per material.

• For each part, we’ll provide you with a per unit cost e.g. $0.25 /part

  
  

Optional services

• Inside Cuts/Sealed Edges - +20% upcharge on the per unit cut costs for each part. For example, if the base cost is $0.25 /part, the cost would be $0.30 /part to avoid inside cuts and have sealed edges. 

• Special Packaging - If your job has special or specific packaging requirements outside of our standard service, this could be an additional cost. Our Cut Specialist will discuss these options with you when quoting the job

• Excess parts per material - We allow a maximum of five different parts per material at no additional charge. If you have more than five parts, that’s OK, but this will be treated as a separate job with its own $150 minimum for each group of five parts. For example, 15 parts would be treated as three separate jobs for a total order minimum of $450.

Good question! We’ve designed our process to be simple, efficient, and easy to understand for anyone that wants to get cut parts. We’ll add more details to this later, but here is a general overview of the steps involved:

1. Submit your project with files through our online form

2. A member of our Cut Support team reaches out (typically within 24 hours) to clarify any details before starting the quote process

3. We’ll quote your cut job(s) and provide an itemized breakdown of costs to include cut cost per part, material usage, and any other costs

4. You approve the job(s) and we begin work

5. We package and ship your cut parts to your door

   
   

It’s important to note that you’ll be in contact with a member of our Cut Support team every step of the way. If you don’t understand something, that’s OK - our team will help answer your questions and provide expert guidance to make sure that you get the best result possible. For us, this means two things:

1. All of your job requirements are met 

2. We maximize efficiency and minimize cost for your job

At this time, we do not generally accept outside materials for cutting (those that we do not regularly stock). Accepting outside materials presents specific challenges to our workflow, including storage and inventory tracking. This may be a service that we offer at some point, but for now we only cut on our materials. 

If you have a specific material in mind, please let us know and we’ll work with you to determine best option.

What are inside cuts?

Inside cuts are part geometries where the cut path is less than 180 deg that include any point where the cut head has to completely stop and change directions. That’s a long winded explanation, so here are some visual examples of inside cuts: 

Inside cuts are important because parts with inside cuts may need to be cut on specific machines that don’t run quite as fast, thus increasing the cost of the cut job. The decision comes down to your specific application and whether “overcut” is OK. Overcut simply means that the cut head must cut into the part by a small amount (typically 0.125” to 0.25”) when changing directions. For an outside cut, that’s not an issue. For an inside cut, overcut falls within the part itself.

What are sealed cuts and do I really need them?

By sealed edges, we mean that the cut edges of the material have been fused together by heat - typically through a laser or ultrasonic device. If your job requires sealed edges, you can select this option when ordering and we’ll only use a machine that cuts and seals at the same time. The process of cutting and sealing is slightly slower than cutting only, so there is a X% upcharge when opting for sealed edges. 

Because of the increased cost of sealed edges, it’s important to determine whether or not you actually need them for your parts. Here’s a breakdown of typical use cases to help you out:

Sealed Edges YES

• Parts where the raw edge will not be sewn or bound - think zipper pulls, strips

• Uncoated and loosely woven materials - any material that will fray badly, thus making it harder to work with your production

  
  

Sealed Edges NO

• Coated materials (silicone, PU, etc) - coatings stabilize the fabric weave and thus naturally prevent fraying after cutting in most cases

• Laminated materials (X-pac, DCF, etc) - the lamination process stabilizes the face fabric of most laminates and naturally prevents fraying after cutting in most cases

  
  

Ultimately, the decision to pay extra for sealed edges depends on your specific application, the parts you’re cutting, and the fabric you’re cutting from. Our Cut Support team can also provide guidance to help you make the best decision.

Example jobs vs. cost breakdown

Coming soon

Cut file requirements and best practices

To ensure a smooth process, we have a few requirements and best practices for the cut files that you submit to us. 

• File type - All files must be in .dxf format. This file type is an export option for many CAD and vector drawing programs. 

• Scale - Parts should be submitted at 100% scale (1:1). This means that you should submit cut files already scaled to the exact size that you want for the part. 

• Units - Design in inches or mm. On our standard intake form, you’ll have the option to tell us which units you’re using in your files. 

• Closed and non-intersecting lines - All shapes should be closed with no intersecting or overlapping cut lines. 

• Submit parts without nesting - When creating parts, do not make files with multiple parts nested together. Our team will do this with special software. Simply submit one file per part that you want to cut. 

  
  

Of course, if you need help or have questions along the way, a member of our cut team will be happy to help. At this time, we do not offer a cut file creation service, but we can guide you on minor changes or suggest outside services for getting your cut files drawn by a professional.

What is laser kerf?

Coming soon

Part orientation and weave direction

If any of your parts have specific orientation requirements, we’ll need to know that before proceeding with a quote. Part orientation affects the cost of cutting through efficient use of material and optimization of the cut path.

Why would you want to orient your parts in a specific direction?

Depending on your application and the material, you may get a better end result by cutting the parts a certain way. Most fabrics have warp (lengthwise), weft (widthwise), and bias (diagonal) directions - each with unique properties like thread count and stretch. If you’re making a garment, you may want to cut parts along the bias for more stretch/give. In contrast, if you’re making a tote bag that’s only used for carrying stuff, you probably don’t care which way the cut parts are oriented. 

I only have paper patterns. How do I make cut files?

Coming soon