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Laser cutting Felt 3mm: speed, time and cost
Felt 3mm cuts at about 25 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 Felt 3mm →Felt 3mm at a glance
| Material group | Fabric / Felt |
|---|---|
| Thickness | 3 mm |
| Reference cut speed (100 W CO2) | 25 mm/s × 1 pass |
| Air assist | low 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 | 5 mm/s | 1 m 4 s | €1.07 |
| xTool D1 Pro 20W / S1 20W | 7.5 mm/s | 43 s | €0.71 |
| OMTech K40 (40W CO2) | 12.5 mm/s | 26 s | €0.43 |
| OMTech / Gweike 60W | 18.8 mm/s | 17 s | €0.28 |
| OMTech / Thunder / Gweike 80W | 22.5 mm/s | 14 s | €0.24 |
| 100 W CO2 (workshop reference) | 25 mm/s | 13 s | €0.21 |
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 Felt 3mm
pin the material flat or it lifts in the airflow; synthetic felt fuses its own edge (no fraying). 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?
Felt cuts on any machine here at high speed and low power. The important variable is not the machine, it is whether the felt is wool or synthetic.
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
Synthetic (polyester) felt is the better laser material. It melts as it cuts, which seals the edge and stops it shedding fibres — the reason laser-cut felt shapes hold their outline. Wool felt chars rather than seals, leaves a darker fuzzy edge and smells strongly of burnt hair.
Safety — read this before the first cut
Avoid anything with a PVC or vinyl backing, which is common on craft felt sold for upholstery. Check the composition label rather than assuming.
Getting a clean edge
Felt is light enough to lift in the air assist stream and move mid-cut, which ruins the part. Weigh it down at the corners, or use a magnetic hold-down on a honeycomb bed.
Felt 3mm FAQ
How fast can you laser cut Felt 3mm?
On a 100 W CO2 laser about 25 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 13 s at 25 mm/s.
How much does laser cutting Felt 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 25 mm/s a 100 × 60 mm part is about €0.21 of machine time before material and setup.
What settings do I use for Felt 3mm?
Start from your machine's fabric / felt preset, use low air assist, and do a test cut: if it doesn't cut through, slow down 10–15% before adding power. pin the material flat or it lifts in the airflow; synthetic felt fuses its own edge (no fraying).
Where to buy Felt 3mm
Wool felt cuts with a clean sealed edge. Acrylic felt is polyester, melts rather than cuts, and gums up the edge.
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Other Fabric / Felt: Fabric (thin) · Fabric (medium) · Felt 2mm