While other manufacturing techniques doe xist for wood, none provide the same balance of speed, precision, and cost that laser cutting does.
Saws come in various types including jigsaws, bandsaws, and circular saws, and are very good at cutting at high speed. These saws are also ideal for processing raw wood into planks that then get used in the construction industry. However, their inability to accurately produce curves and create complex features means that they are only economical for basic straight line cuts.
CNCs are the closest machining method to a laser cutter in that they both use numerically-controlled axis, and are able to produce any 2D shape. However, CNC use router bits that rotate at high speed to mill away areas to be cut and/or engraved instead of a laser beam. This use of tools requires slower cutting speeds (to improve the quality of the cut and extend the life of the bit), and as such sees CNCs take longer to manufacture parts. At the same time, the use of tooling bits also increases the cost of expendable parts, and the use of mechanical force against the wood stock also requires clamping. This in turn also sees parts require tabs and breakouts which adds further complexity in the manufacturing processes.
Water jets are popular for cutting tough materials such as metal and ceramics, but unfortunately cannot be used with wood. This is due to the fact that wood absorbs water very well which changes its physical properties, and that the absorbed water will also cause swelling of the part (and this further results in warping).
Overall, laser cutters provide one of the best solutions for cutting custom wood parts. Their ability to cut and engrave in the same machine cycle reduces the complexity of manufacture, the strong contrast of engraved wood presents numerous opportunities to designers, and the high speed and low-cost nature of laser cutting enable Ponoko to produce laser-cut wood parts same -day.