Straight-line speed on our CO2 machines tops out near 1,000 mm/s, but that is not the number your output depends on. Every corner forces the head to decelerate, so a busy contour can run at a fraction of the straight-line figure while a simple shape approaches it — which is why two machines with identical wattage can quote very different pieces per shift.
- Where laser wins: no die to buy, store or re-cut. Pattern changes cost nothing, so short runs and frequent style changes carry no tooling penalty.
- Where die cutting still wins: one single shape at very high volume. Be honest about this when you compare — the laser catches up through multi-head machines rather than raw speed. Two four-head KASU CO2 cutters can stand in for one industrial die-cutting machine, and adding heads typically raises the purchase price by only 10–30%.
- The control card matters too: we run Trocen cards on flexible-material machines because they cut faster, and RD cards where cutting and engraving accuracy on sheet stock matters more than speed.
Judge it with your own pattern file on your own fabric, not with a straight-line spec. A sample test returns the speed and power actually used, so you can convert it into pieces per shift before you commit.