CO2 Laser Engraving and Cutting near Toulouse: Industrial Subcontracting

At a glance

• Service: subcontract CO2 laser engraving and cutting for businesses.
• Working area: 500 x 300 mm per pass, from prototypes to batches of several hundred parts.
• Materials: wood, plywood, MDF, acrylic, POM, leather, cork, felt, card; marking on glass, stone and anodised aluminium.
• Uses: traceability, identification plates, jigs, shims, signage and logos.
• Advantage: can be combined with 2,500 x 1,250 mm large-format CNC machining in the same workshop.
• Location: near Toulouse (Occitanie, France), delivery across France and to Spain.

The Alcyde workshop has added a CO2 laser engraving and cutting machine with a 500 x 300 mm working area. It complements our large-format CNC routers: while the CNC cuts full 2,500 x 1,250 mm sheets, the laser brings fine marking, crisp small details and speed on short and medium production runs.

Based in the Toulouse area, at the heart of Europe's aerospace industry, we put this new equipment at the service of manufacturers, tier 1 and tier 2 subcontractors, design offices, methods and maintenance departments, as well as shopfitters and brands that need marked or cut parts with a professional, repeatable finish.

Laser engraving: clean, permanent marking with no ink

The laser beam vaporises the surface of the material over a few tenths of a millimetre. The result is a permanent mark, with no ink or adhesive, that will not rub off, wash away or wear with handling on the shop floor.

On wood, laser engraving offers two complementary finishes, both visible in the photo at the top of this article:

• Raster (fill) engraving: the background is recessed and lightly browned, making the design stand out in light relief.
• Vector scoring: a thin, dark outline that traces the lines with precision.

Marking is file-driven: every part comes out identical, and each one can receive its own serial number, part reference or unique code without changing the setup.

Industrial and aerospace subcontracting

Production shops, assembly lines and maintenance departments constantly need small, marked technical parts. CO2 laser processing meets exactly these needs:

• Traceability and identification: identification plates for tooling, trolleys and frames, equipment tags, serial numbers, part references and assembly marks, all permanently engraved.
• Jigs and light tooling: positioning and marking-out jigs, marking stencils, masks and setting shims in thin plywood or acrylic.
• 5S and Lean organisation: location labels, storage markers and shadow board plates, alongside CNC cutting of the tool cut-outs in the panels.
• Gaskets, shims and protective interfaces: cutting of felt, cork, technical card and leather for packing and protecting sensitive parts.
• Rapid prototyping: shape validation, part mock-ups and test pieces in card or plywood before launching a machined production run.

This service builds on our work for industry, such as the machining of HDPE parts for A320 assembly line trolleys carried out for an aerospace subcontractor in the Toulouse area. The same standards apply to laser work: drawings respected, consistency across the batch and deadlines met.

Laser cutting: fine outlines a router bit cannot reach

Laser cutting has no tool radius. It produces sharp inside corners, very fine openings and details that a 3 or 6 mm router bit cannot achieve. The part is under no mechanical load during cutting, so soft or fragile materials (felt, card, leather, veneer) do not distort.

The table below details the materials we process by laser.

Compatible materials: laser engraving and cutting

Materials we do not laser-process:

• PVC, vinyl and PVC faux leather: release toxic, corrosive chlorine gas.
• Polycarbonate and ABS: poor cut quality, material yellows or melts.
• HDPE and polypropylene: melted edges; we machine them on our CNC with far better results.
• Fibreglass, carbon fibre and PTFE (Teflon): hazardous fumes.
• Bare metals: cannot be cut with a CO2 laser.

Not sure about your material? Send us a sample: we run a test before any production.

Applications for brands and fit-out

• Brand marking: logos engraved on furniture, worktops, crates, displays and finished products.
• Interior signage: door plates, numbers, pictograms and information panels in wood or acrylic.
• Corporate gifts: key rings, coasters, engraved boxes and commemorative plaques.
• Retail and events: point-of-sale displays, counter stands, engraved menus and custom decorations.

Laser + CNC: one subcontractor for the whole part

This is where Alcyde stands out. A single order can combine:

1. CNC cutting and profiling of large parts (frames, tops, panels, technical plastic parts) on our large-format router.
2. Laser engraving of references, marks or logos on those same parts, within the 500 x 300 mm area per pass.
3. Laser cutting of the small, fine elements (tags, shims, gaskets, pictograms) that go with the assembly.

One contact, one set of drawings, one delivery: fewer suppliers for your purchasing team, and parts that arrive together, ready to assemble.

Accepted files and preparation

• Vector formats: DXF, DWG, SVG, AI, vector PDF (for cuts and scored lines).
• 3D models: STEP, from which we extract outlines and marking areas.
• Marking lists: Excel or CSV file to engrave a series of different references or numbers.
• Images: high-resolution PNG or JPG for photo or fill engraving.
• No file? We can vectorise your logo from an image or a sketch.

A test on an offcut is carried out before any batch to validate contrast, engraving depth and cut quality on your material.

Frequently asked questions

What is the maximum engraving or cutting size?
The working area is 500 x 300 mm. Larger parts can be engraved in several zones, or cut on our large-format CNC router instead.

How thick can the laser cut?
CO2 lasers are suited to thin materials: a few millimetres of plywood or acrylic depending on density. Beyond that, we switch to CNC cutting, which is better suited to thicker stock and technical plastics.

Can you engrave a different number or reference on each part?
Yes. From a list (Excel or CSV), each part receives its own number, reference or mark, with no transcription errors.

Do you work on recurring subcontracting orders?
Yes, from a single prototype to batches of several hundred parts, as one-off orders or regular replenishment. Laser work is especially cost-effective on repetitive batches of small parts.

Can you mark parts we supply?
Yes, as long as they fit within the working area and the material is compatible. A test is run first on a hidden area or a sample piece.

Where is the workshop?
The Alcyde workshop is located near Toulouse, in the Occitanie region of south-west France, close to the region's industrial and aerospace sites. We ship throughout France and to Spain.

Need marking, jigs or small cut parts for your production? Send us your drawings or file to receive a quote.