6 mil "dibond" (like material) vs CNC

[skyhigh]

I was wondering if anyone has ever routered 6mil - 1/4" dibond (or alumapanel) to expose the inner black core for the lettering? I was thinking of "pocketing" down, like 3/16".

1. Is that enough dimension for the lettering??
2. Will the inner core have a nice enough finish?

This project is indoors.


I do have some "King CC" that I could use, but this job isn't quite that high end.

 

[J Hill Designs]

the wierd part would be the exposed aluminum...giving it a white/silver/black transition

 

[Salmoneye]

Might look nice, like an outline.

 

[2B]

Might look nice, like an outline.

It does, almost gives it a complex 3D look. did one and hand routed some letters out on 3mm

 

[HulkSmash]

I was wondering if anyone has ever routered 6mil - 1/4" dibond (or alumapanel) to expose the inner black core for the lettering? I was thinking of "pocketing" down, like 3/16".

1. Is that enough dimension for the lettering??
2. Will the inner core have a nice enough finish?

This project is indoors.


I do have some "King CC" that I could use, but this job isn't quite that high end.

Are you ultimately painting the dibond?

 

[skyhigh]

Are you ultimately painting the dibond?

No

 

[SebastienL]

Might be worth a try. Depending on how much aluminum you remove, the panel will curl more or less.

I tried it once with 1/8" diebond. I removed the center leaving only a 1" border of aluminum on the outside on a 36" x 36" panel. The vaccuum table wasn't strong enough to hold the panel flat on the table because it curled to much.

As for finish, the endmill will leave marks. You will see the cutting pattern. Use a brand spanking new endmill for best results!

Hope this is helpfull...

 

[Just Another Sign Guy]

I've routed pockets & inserted letters. I have routed completely through & installed push through letters with flanges. But what I will say is that when I wouted pockets part way through to receive letters, there is no way I would have been happy simply displaying that sign 'as is' exposing the core for a contrasting color of the core vs the painted finish of the outer sheet,,if I am understanding what you are thinking of doing..the only exception would be if the sign was to be viewed from an extreme distance or placed extremely high & in that case I'd just install cut vinyl letters or a digital print versus the machine time to obtain a less than ideal finish.

with some experimentation & maybe creating a 3d bitmap texture over the exposed core you might be able to achieve something you were happy with but seems like a ton of work & machine time for the end result imo

 

[SD&F]

The problem that you are going to have with dibond is it is like any pvc product. The finish is on the top and on the bottom and the inner part is porous. We do it all the time and it has a different finish. On something with that depth it should not be a problem at all. You shouldn't be able to see it.

 

[cdiesel]

We've done it too, but you can see the hatch pattern left behind by the router. The surface feels perfectly smooth, but you can definitely see the path the router took.

 

[skyhigh]

We've done it too, but you can see the hatch pattern left behind by the router. The surface feels perfectly smooth, but you can definitely see the path the router took.

I would think a lot of that could be eliminated with the proper bit. An Onsrud 66-300 bit is what I would use. It says, "for smooth bottoms in plastic & aluminum"...... although I've never tried it out yet.

As for the panel "twisting" as Sebastiem said........ I don't know if that was due to the fact of how much material you removed or what.....or what type of product you are using, but I've never had the problem of dibond, aluapanel or omegapanel curling or twisting..... and I cut a lot of this material. This application would not be cutting all the way thu, and the material will be 6mil not 3. I'm sure that would make a big difference.

 

[skyhigh]

there is no way I would have been happy simply displaying that sign 'as is' exposing the core for a contrasting color of the core vs the painted finish of the outer sheet,,if I am understanding what you are thinking of doing.

I'll take that as gospel.

Although I will have to give it a try the next time I get a scrap piece of the 6mil. Per your advice, I'll scrap the idea for this project.

 

[FS-Keith]

post a pic if you ever do it id be interested in seeing how it looks

 

[Ian Stewart-Koster]

Did exactly what you ask, for a lot of 'please keep the gate shut' signs for a local school. After 18 months, the black plastic core faded to a light grey colour-and looked pretty poorly. Not good!

 

[GB2]

If you masked, routed and then sprayed with Krylon Fusion, that might look good. I think you're just going to have to test it and let us know how it goes.

 

[Ditchmiester]

Couldn't you just use Rowmark engraving plastic?