CNC Milling Machines

Posts Tagged ‘cutting’

Cutting a face using my 15 year old Milltronics CNC Milling machine. Was a great machine that I sold recently. The programming for the face was done with Mastercam V9

I need to find a way of cutting a sheet of MDF which the dimensions 2500mm x 1250mm x 30mm, into strips 12mm wide.

The cut surfaces must be totally free from tool marks and the strips of MDF must be cut completely straight with 90 degree edges. I’ve obviously considered using a cicular saw but that would leave some saw marks on the material (importantly, it would not be possible to sand the MDF after cutting).

Is it possible to do this with a cnc router/engraving machine? Obviously I would lose a fair amount of material due to the cutting width of the router bit, but as the MDF is quite cheap I don’t mind this.

Techno CNC Offers Sign Makers $1,000 Holiday Discount on CNC Routers If you’re a sign maker and you’re tired of cutting products with hand tools, Techno CNC wants to give you a $1,000 incentive to automate your cutting process for the holidays. The company, a leading supplier of CNC routers for sign makers and other fabricators, is offering a $1,000 discount on any router machine system purchased by December 31st, 2009. “Sign makers have seen their businesses change dramatically with our machines,” says Roy Valentine, Techno CNC sales manager. “We know wood, signage, plastic, and other fabricators need to automate their cutting process. With aggressive US government incentives to purchase capital equipment we felt we should chime in as well. This extended discount is to encourage and motivate companies to automate and streamline there production. We hope this added contribution will prove that Techno equipment is a small investment with a big return.” To learn more about the $1,000 Techno CNC discount and see a video of the Techno CNC router in action, please visit: http://www.Sign-CNC-Router.com For more than 23 years, the experts at Techno have led the industry in the design and manufacture of CNC routers for sign manufacturing and other industries; routers known for their performance, durability, and ease-of-use. Techno CNC routers allow customers to cut signs with greater accuracy, faster production speed, and expand their business into new markets by cutting parts they could not cut by hand. “The accuracy on these machines is incredible,” said Techno CNC customer Tom Farmer, owner of Hilton, N.Y.-based Upstate CNC Service Inc. “If you want to do something the old way with a Jigsaw you can hope you get a straight line or an accurate curve. But Techno CNC machines are reliable 100% of the time. I can make 1,000 parts exactly the same. You can not do that with a hand tool.” The Pro-series CNC Router is designed to meet the demanding production needs of panel processing shops. This machine model is engineered for optimal performance and product throughput in sheet goods such as plastic, wood, and similar materials. The LC Series, Techno’s most popular model, is ideal for small to mid-size production shops. It’s an excellent entry-level machine that allows the user to start with a CNC Router featuring many advancements typically found in more expensive machines. In addition the LC Series has two Table top models available for small part processing. The Patriot CNC is ideal for prototyping, model making, jewelry manufacturing, or schools for teaching CAD/CAM technology to students. The Patriot is fully enclosed and can be equipped with many accessories such as a reverse engineering digitizer an automatic tool changer, and 4-axis for intricate carvings. Whether you’re working with signs, woodworking products, or any other routable materials, Techno has a CNC router for you. To learn more about the offer and submit an online form to automatically qualify for the $1,000 discount, visit the following website: http://www.Sign-CNC-Router.com

I have a sheet of MDF (2500 x 1250 x 30mm) and I want to find out if it is possible to cut 3mm (or the width of the minimum size router bit possible) square grooves/slits across the MDF exactly 12mm apart. These grooves/slits would run the length of the MDF from top to bottom, but importantly would not run right to the edges of the sheet.

Basically this would mean I would end up with a large thick piece of MDF with very long slits (aproximately 1200mm long and 12mm apart) running right across the material.

I have spoken to a number of people who have suggested this is not possible because cutting the grooves/slits that close together would move the material or at least make it unstable to the point where the grooves/slits would not be straight.

Is this really correct? I find this very strange as I would have though that doing something like this would be incredible easy for a CNC router.
Also, would CNC router be able to cut the grooves/slits in one pass or would the machine likely cut the top section first and then lower the router bit to cut the bottom section of the grooves/slits?
The reason I want to use a CNC router is because I need the cuts absolutely straight and with hardly if any tool marks on the cut surfaces.

Importantly, the grooves/slits would be cut completely through the material so that you would be able to see through the MDF e.g like a big set of prison bars sort of thing.

The operators of the present-day CNC cutting machine demonstrate many of the same skills as those possessed by various traditional craftsmen. The operators of the CNC cutting machine include the men and women who design and make cabinets, woodwork, signs, and a whole range of metal, solid surface and plastic objects. The manufacturers who employ these operators know how important it is to have a good quality CNC cutting machine.

A good quality CNC cutting machine has a cutting table that covers the area bounded by a length of four feet and a width of eight feet. A quality table can handle satisfactorily a standard 4 x 8 plate of metal, wood, plastic, glass, or stone. A table that lacks a sufficient length or width will make it necessary for the operator to repeatedly reposition the plate. Operators of the CNC cutting machine refer to such repositioning as indexing.

A good basic CNC cutting machine does both plasma and oxyfuel cutting. Refinements on a basic cutting machine might provide it with the ability to perform other functions, functions such as:

-spotting holes for drilling
-drilling aluminum
-cutting a shape in the sides or end of tubing
-routing wooden shapes.

Other modifications on a CNC cutting machine might be directed at installation of the equipment for laser or water jet cutting.

The selection of a CNC cutting machine will be primarily determined by the nature of cutting that will be performed by the machine operator. For some operations, it will be necessary to do only straight cutting. For other operations, the cutting machine must perform bevel cutting. Bevel cutting allows the operator to trim, reduce, shave, and pare the material in the plate.

Both types of cutting will subject the CNC cutting machine to a fair amount of wear and tear. The manufacturer therefore needs to purchase a machine with adequate customer support. Such support should include the availability of spare parts. An absence of spare parts could require that the electronics of the CNC cutting machine undergo a retrofitting.

A need for retrofitting would deprive the operator of important production time. The need for retrofitting would diminish the quantity of goods that could be sold to the consumer. The need for retrofitting leads to a decrease in the amount of time that the operator will be spending at the CNC cutting machine. That is why the availability of spare parts for a malfunctioning CNC cutting machine remains one of the two chief concerns of the manufacturer. A second prime concern is the size of the cutting table.

The operator of a CNC die cutting machine that needs to spend a large percent of time indexing will not have much time to spend on the actual cutting. Hence, the manufacturer will have much less product. Fewer products from the manufacturing facility translate into fewer products on the shelf. Consequently, the need for operators to spend time indexing can prove a detriment to the company’s bottom

This video demonstrates the hexapod router cutting a 3D face in high density foam. The video has been sped up in places to alleviate boredom More information can be found here: www.hexapodrobot.com

-cnc milling machine
-different cutting path will produce different total time to fabricate
-which cutting path will make the fastest time to fabricate?

http://www.breton.it/dynamic/en/catalogo/schedaProdotto.php?id=960&
Large and easily accessible work table
The Contourbreton NC 260 has useful working travels of 3500mm in X, while in Y the travels vary according to the model: 1500mm for NC 260 K15, 1800 mm for NC 260 K18, 2300 mm for NC 260 K23 and 3700 mm for NC 260 K37. In all versions, its movable bridge design means ample freedom of access, even from above, for workpiece loading/unloading operations.
High productivity, sturdiness and safety
With the Contourbreton NC260 nothing has been left to chance. Great care has been given to every particular. The machine is compact, well built, ergonomic, and aesthetically beautiful.
Engineered to work stone in the fastest, most precise and efficient manner provided by todays technology, the support frame of the Contourbreton NC 260 is such as to insure the needed rigidity to consistently obtain the desired precision, even when faced with heavy grinding stress.
Contourbreton NC 260 complies with the CE industrial accident prevention standards The machine is equipped with sliding doors, which are opened manually and have a large inspection window; the doors provide safety and also help deaden sound. Thus, the operator is protected from risks of being crushed or stuck by flying pieces.

Duration : 0:2:49