Die cutting, laser cutting and water jet cutting can all turn your drawing into a finished gasket, shim, washer or insulator. They are not interchangeable. Each has a material, a thickness and a quantity where it is clearly the best choice, and the wrong one costs money: in a tool you did not need, or in parts that take too long to cut.
The short answer: choose a laser for fine detail in thin material, a water jet for thick or heat-sensitive material, and a die once the quantity justifies making a tool. Many parts use more than one method in their life, starting on a laser or water jet as prototypes and moving to a die for production. This guide explains why, compares the three methods side by side, and shows which one we would usually suggest for common parts.
Which cutting method suits your part: the quick guide
- A prototype or a few hundred parts: laser or water jet. There is no tool to make, so the first parts can be cut as soon as the drawing is ready.
- Thousands of parts, or regular repeat orders: die cutting. The tool is an upfront cost, but each part is cut in one stroke, so the price per part falls.
- Fine slots, small holes and sharp inside corners in thin material: laser cutting.
- Thick rubber, foam, silicone or PTFE: water jet cutting, which cuts cold and leaves a square edge.
- PVC, neoprene and other materials that must not be heated: die cutting or water jet, never the laser.
- Self-adhesive parts supplied on a liner: die cutting, with the parts kiss cut so they stay in place on the liner.
How die cutting, laser cutting and water jet cutting work
Die cutting: the shape is held in a tool
A cutting die is a steel blade formed to the outline of the part. A press drives it through sheet or roll material and cuts the outline and every hole in one stroke, so each part matches the first and output is fast. The die has to be made before the first part is cut, which adds time and cost at the start. Our guide to die cutting explains flatbed and rotary presses, the different tools and the tolerances each one holds.
Laser cutting: the shape is held in a file
A laser cutter reads the outline from your CAD file and follows it with a focused beam that melts or vaporises a narrow path, typically 0.1 to 0.3 mm wide. There is no tool, so the first part is cut as soon as the file is ready, and a design change costs only a new file. Because it cuts with heat, a laser can leave a fused or slightly darkened edge, and some materials should never be laser cut.
Water jet cutting: a cold cut through thick material
A water jet cutter forces water through a tiny jewel orifice at around 4,000 bar, and the jet cuts soft materials cleanly along the programmed path. Like the laser it needs no tool, but it cuts cold, with no melting or charring, and it goes through rubber, foam and PTFE tens of millimetres thick. Both tool-less methods are covered in depth on our laser and water jet cutting page.
Die cutting vs laser vs water jet compared
The table compares the three methods on the points that usually decide. Values are typical for non-metallic gasket and shim materials; what can be held on your part depends on the material, its thickness and the shape.
| Criterion | Die cutting | Laser cutting | Water jet cutting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Material thickness | About 0.012 to 25 mm; soft foam thicker | Up to about 10 mm, by material | About 0.5 to 100 mm and more |
| Typical tolerance | ±0.1 to ±0.4 mm, by tool | ±0.05 to ±0.1 mm | ±0.1 to ±0.25 mm |
| Width of cut | None: the blade removes no material | 0.1 to 0.3 mm | 0.1 to 0.3 mm; about 1 mm with abrasive |
| Cutting tool | A die made for each part | None | None |
| First part | Once the die is made | As soon as the file is ready | As soon as the file is ready |
| Edge | Clean; slightly concave on thick, soft material | Fused or slightly darkened on some materials | Square, cold and clean; can taper slightly on thick parts |
| Cost per part | Lowest on long runs | Higher: every edge is traced | Higher: every edge is traced |
| Best batch size | Hundreds to millions | One-offs to a few hundred | One-offs to a few hundred; thick parts at any quantity |
| Not suited to | Brittle plastics over about 1.5 mm; small holes in thick material | PVC, neoprene, PTFE, polycarbonate, polyurethane foam; rubber over about 10 mm | Thin films; absorbent cork and paper-based fibre |
Which cutting method for your material
The material often decides before the quantity does. These are the methods usually chosen for the materials we cut most often; our gasket material chart compares the materials themselves.
| Material | Usually cut by | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Nitrile and natural rubber, a few mm thick | Die cutting; water jet for prototypes | A clean edge at volume; a laser melts the edge slightly |
| Neoprene and other chlorinated rubbers | Die cutting or water jet | A laser releases hydrogen chloride gas |
| Rubber and foam over about 10 mm | Water jet | A square, cold edge; a die leaves a concave edge on thick, soft material |
| Solid and sponge silicone | Water jet or die cutting | A laser leaves a powdery silica residue on the edge |
| PTFE sheet | Die cutting when thin; water jet when thick | Heating PTFE releases toxic fluorine compounds |
| Cork and gasket fibre | Die cutting | They absorb water, and die cutting is dry |
| Polyester and polyimide films | Die cutting; laser for fine detail | Thin films flutter under a water jet |
| Nomex® paper and electrical insulators | Die cutting; laser for fine detail and tight tolerances | The laser holds narrow slots a die cannot |
| PVC and polycarbonate | Die cutting or water jet | A laser releases toxic gas from PVC and chars polycarbonate |
| Thin metal shims | Fibre laser | Fine detail in stainless steel, brass and aluminium with no tool |
| Self-adhesive foams and films | Die cutting, kiss cut on a liner | The parts stay in place on the liner, ready to peel |
More on the materials where the method matters most: silicone gaskets, PTFE gaskets, Nomex® insulation and metal shims. For rubber, our comparison of EPDM, neoprene and nitrile helps you choose the grade before the cutting method.
Tooling cost and batch size: when a die pays for itself
The choice between a die and a tool-less method usually comes down to quantity. A die is a one-off cost, and after that each part is cut in a single stroke. A laser or water jet has no tool cost, but the machine traces every edge of every part, so each part costs more.
The break-even point is the cost of the die divided by the saving it makes on each part. As an illustration only, not our prices: if a die cost £300 and made each part 40p cheaper than tool-less cutting, it would pay for itself after 750 parts. Below that quantity a laser or water jet costs less overall; above it the die wins, and keeps winning on every repeat order that uses the same tool.
Three things move the break-even point:
- Part size: large gaskets need large, more expensive dies, but also take longer to trace, so the comparison can go either way.
- Complexity: many holes and long outlines add machine time on a laser or water jet, but cost nothing extra per part once a die is made.
- Design stability: if the drawing may still change, a tool-less method avoids paying for a die twice.
Tell us the quantity you need now and your expected yearly use, and where both methods make sense we will quote both, with the die priced separately so you can compare.
Four example parts, and the cutting method we would suggest
Ten prototype silicone gaskets, 6 mm thick
Water jet. Ten parts do not justify a die, silicone should not be laser cut, and the cold jet leaves a square edge on 6 mm material where a die could leave a slightly concave one.
Two hundred Nomex® insulators with fine slots
Laser. The quantity does not justify a die, and the laser cuts narrow slots and small holes in thin insulation paper to tolerances a die would struggle to hold.
Five thousand nitrile cover gaskets a year, 2 mm thick
Die cutting. At this volume a steel rule die soon pays for itself, every gasket matches the first, and the same tool serves each repeat order. The first samples can be water jet cut to prove the design before the die is made.
Twenty thousand self-adhesive foam pads
Die cutting, kiss cut on a liner. The die cuts through the foam and the adhesive and stops at the backing liner, so the pads arrive in place, ready to peel and apply on an assembly line. Our kiss cutting guide explains the adhesives and liners.
From prototype to production with one drawing
All three methods work from the same drawing file, so a part does not have to be redrawn as it moves from development to production. A common path: prototypes on a laser or water jet while the design settles, a pre-production batch cut the same way for testing, then a die once the drawing is frozen and volumes are known.
Check early that the method you will use in production can make the part you are testing. A detail that is easy on a laser, such as a 0.5 mm slot in 3 mm rubber, may need to change before it can be die cut, so tell us the production quantity even when you only need prototypes.
Designing a part for the cutting method
- Holes: as a rule of thumb, keep die-cut holes at least as wide as the material is thick; smaller holes are better laser cut.
- Inside corners: give them a small radius. Dies form them more cleanly, and rounded corners make a gasket less likely to tear.
- Webs: leave at least the material thickness between holes, and between a hole and the edge, so the part does not distort or break.
- Tolerances: put tight tolerances only on the dimensions that matter, such as bolt hole positions. Tight tolerances everywhere add cost without adding function.
- Thick parts: a water jet cut through thick material can taper slightly from top to bottom, so say which face matters.
- Draw the finished part: we allow for the width of the cut, so dimension the part as it should be when finished.
Cutting method questions, answered
Is laser cutting more accurate than die cutting?
On thin, stable material a laser typically holds about ±0.05 to ±0.1 mm, similar to a rotary die and tighter than a steel rule die at about ±0.25 mm. A matched punch and die can hold tighter still, at a higher tool cost. On thick or soft material, the material limits the accuracy more than the method does.
Which is cheapest for a hundred gaskets?
Usually a laser or water jet, because there is no die to pay for. Spread over a hundred gaskets, the cost of a die rarely beats tool-less cutting, unless the part is very simple or a suitable die already exists.
Does water jet cutting leave parts wet?
The jet wets the material briefly, and parts are dried before they are packed. Absorbent materials such as cork and paper-based gasket fibre take up water, so they are usually die cut instead.
Can a part move from laser cutting to die cutting later?
Yes. Prototypes are often laser or water jet cut and production parts die cut from the same drawing file, so moving to a die needs no new drawing. Check small features early, because a detail that is easy on a laser may need changing to suit a die.
Send us your drawing
We cut gaskets, shims, washers and insulators by die, precision laser and water jet, in gasket materials from 0.25 to 50 mm thick, and recommend the method that suits your part and your quantity. Send a DXF, DWG, PDF, STEP or IGES file with the material, thickness, tolerances and quantity through our quote request. Everything you send is handled in confidence. To see the materials most often specified, visit our custom gaskets page.
Nomex® is a trademark of Arclin or its affiliates.
