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Laser cutting Cardboard 3mm: speed, time and cost
Cardboard 3mm cuts at about 35 mm/s on a 100 W CO2 laser in one pass. Below: what that means in time and money on common machines, plus settings tips. Price your own file in the calculator — it runs in your browser, nothing is uploaded.
Open the calculator preset for Cardboard 3mm →Cardboard 3mm at a glance
| Material group | Cardboard / Paper |
|---|---|
| Thickness | 3 mm |
| Reference cut speed (100 W CO2) | 35 mm/s × 1 pass |
| Air assist | gentle air assist |
| Diode lasers | yes, slower (5–10×), more passes as thickness grows |
Time and cost by machine (100 × 60 mm part, €60/h)
| Machine | Speed | Time | Machine cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| xTool D1 Pro 10W | 7 mm/s | 46 s | €0.76 |
| xTool D1 Pro 20W / S1 20W | 10.5 mm/s | 30 s | €0.51 |
| OMTech K40 (40W CO2) | 17.5 mm/s | 18 s | €0.30 |
| OMTech / Gweike 60W | 26.3 mm/s | 12 s | €0.20 |
| OMTech / Thunder / Gweike 80W | 31.5 mm/s | 10 s | €0.17 |
| 100 W CO2 (workshop reference) | 35 mm/s | 9 s | €0.15 |
Speeds scale from the workshop reference by machine class. Material, setup and margin come on top — open the calculator to add them and nest parts on your sheet.
Settings tips for Cardboard 3mm
low power, high speed; multiple fast passes beat one slow pass (fire risk). Never leave unattended. Test-cut a small square first: dial speed, not power, until it just cuts through — cleaner edge, less char.
Can your machine actually cut this?
Every laser here cuts cardboard, including the weakest diode, and it is the fastest material on the site. Because it needs so little power, the usual mistake is using far too much — which scorches the cut face brown instead of leaving it clean.
3 mm is the sweet spot for most machines here. A CO2 machine will do it in one pass; a diode usually wants two at a moderate speed rather than one slow crawl, because a slow single pass dumps heat into the surrounding material and chars the face. If a cut fails at this thickness the cause is almost always focus, not power — check that the focus is set to the surface before you turn anything up.
Buying the right sheet
Corrugated board hides the same trap as cheap plywood: the flutes between the liners are air gaps. The beam crosses a flute, spreads, and the cut can stop or wander. Solid greyboard and chipboard cut far more predictably than corrugated if the edge matters.
Safety — read this before the first cut
This is the highest fire-risk material on the site. Cardboard is thin, dry and porous, and it will sustain a flame happily. Never run a paper or card job unattended, even a short one, and keep the lid closed. Keep air assist low — a strong blast fans an ember into an actual flame rather than putting it out.
Getting a clean edge
Aim for the fastest speed that still cuts through in one pass. Multiple slow passes on card is how fires start, and the second pass rarely lands in exactly the same place anyway.
Cardboard 3mm FAQ
How fast can you laser cut Cardboard 3mm?
On a 100 W CO2 laser about 35 mm/s in a single pass. Diode lasers are roughly 5× slower (and need more passes above 3 mm). A 100 × 60 mm part (320 mm of cutting) takes about 9 s at 35 mm/s.
How much does laser cutting Cardboard 3mm cost?
Laser cutting is priced by machine time: cut length ÷ speed = time, × hourly rate (€60/h typical for a small shop) + setup + material. At 35 mm/s a 100 × 60 mm part is about €0.15 of machine time before material and setup.
What settings do I use for Cardboard 3mm?
Start from your machine's cardboard / paper preset, use gentle air assist, and do a test cut: if it doesn't cut through, slow down 10–15% before adding power. low power, high speed; multiple fast passes beat one slow pass (fire risk). Never leave unattended.
Where to buy Cardboard 3mm
Cardboard is the cheapest way to prototype a fit before committing plywood, and it is worth keeping a stack for exactly that.
Check prices on Amazon ↗ Where to buy laser materials
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Other Cardboard / Paper: Cardboard 1mm · Cardboard 2mm