Plasma cutting services with instant online quotes

Plasma cutting is used to produce profiles from electrically conductive metal plate. It is well suited to brackets, bases, gussets, flanges, machine components and structural parts where the material is thicker than PartFab's laser range or where plasma offers a more economical production route. CNC plasma cutting can supply one-off profiles or repeat production batches for fabrication and further machining.

PartFab offers online plasma cutting for S275 and S355 mild steel from 10–150mm, and Hardox 400 and S690QL from 10–50mm, subject to drawing geometry and available plate. Plasma can technically cut many conductive metals, but the online service is limited to these listed grades and thicknesses. Upload your drawing and select the specification to confirm availability and price.

Plasma cutting uses an electrically generated, high-temperature plasma jet to melt a narrow path through conductive metal plate. Compressed gas removes the molten material while a CNC table moves the torch around the uploaded profile. The result is a repeatable two-dimensional part that can be supplied as cut or used as a near-net blank for welding and further machining.

There is no fixed price because the cost depends on material grade, thickness, part area, sheet utilisation, cut length, pierce count, quantity and delivery. Intricate profiles with many holes take longer than simple outlines, while practical quantities spread programming and setup across more parts. Upload a DXF, DWG or SVG and select the material, thickness and quantity to see your PartFab price online.

Plasma cutting melts metal with an electrically generated plasma arc, while flame cutting uses oxygen and fuel gas to oxidise carbon steel. Plasma is generally faster and better suited to detailed profiles across thin and medium plate. Flame cutting remains attractive for very thick carbon steel. PartFab offers plasma cutting for S275 and S355 up to 150mm and flame cutting up to 210mm, with the best route depending on grade, thickness and geometry.

Laser cutting uses a focused light beam and usually provides finer detail, smaller holes, a narrower kerf and tighter tolerances on thinner sheet. Plasma cutting is designed for heavier conductive plate and can be more economical as thickness increases. PartFab's laser service covers supported materials from 1–15mm, while plasma cutting covers supported steels from 10–150mm.

Plasma cutting combines fast cutting speeds with the ability to process thick conductive plate. It can produce complex 2D profiles without dedicated press tooling and is suitable for prototypes, one-off fabrication work and production quantities. For heavier steel parts that will be welded or machined later, plasma cutting offers an efficient near-net profile while reducing the material that downstream operations must remove.

Plasma cutting usually produces a wider kerf, larger heat-affected zone and less fine detail than laser cutting. Cut edges may show taper, dross or heat marks, particularly as plate thickness increases, so critical faces, tight tolerances and small features may require machining or another process. It also works only with electrically conductive materials. These limitations are considered when PartFab selects a viable route for the uploaded geometry.

Plasma cutting cannot process electrically non-conductive materials such as wood, glass, plastics or composites. Although the process can technically cut several conductive metals, PartFab's online plasma service is limited to the listed S275, S355, Hardox 400 and S690QL grades and thicknesses. Unsupported metals, grades or geometry should use another available process or receive a separate manufacturing review.

Industrial plasma cutting requires controlled extraction, guarding, eye and hearing protection, fire precautions and trained operators because it produces intense light, heat, fumes, noise and sparks. PartFab orders are manufactured in an appropriate production environment; customers should not need to operate cutting equipment themselves. Declare coatings or contamination because heated surface treatments can create hazardous fumes.

Upload a clean DXF, DWG or SVG in millimetres with one part design per file and closed cut contours. Remove duplicate paths, unwanted annotations and unrelated reference geometry before uploading. STEP files, PDFs, screenshots and raster images are not accepted by the online quote flow.

Yes. PartFab supports one-off plasma-cut parts as well as production quantities. A one-off may have a higher unit cost because programming, nesting, setup and material handling are not shared across a batch. Ordering several parts in the same material and thickness together can improve sheet utilisation and reduce the unit cost.