New Guy Cnc routers.

[Bazzer]

Hi everybody been sign making for a while now.
We are about to take delivery of our newest toy.
A large bed CNC router.
Heading into light boxes in the future.
Any hints or past discussions on cutting acrylics and Alupanel much appreciated.
Bazzer

 

[GC Decor]

Depends on machine and router you went with?? They make bits for both acrylic and ACM , speeds and feeds are your starting point on any router, but it depends heavily on what your machine tolerances are.
Lots to learn but there’s tons of info online for all the major brands. We have made some really cool projects in the past with our Cnc. Opens you up to new jobs and new projects.

 

[Bazzer]

Depends on machine and router you went with?? They make bits for both acrylic and ACM , speeds and feeds are your starting point on any router, but it depends heavily on what your machine tolerances are.
Lots to learn but there’s tons of info online for all the major brands. We have made some really cool projects in the past with our Cnc. Opens you up to new jobs and new projects.

Awaiting delivery on a full vac bed Forsun.
We have beefed up the spec on the stepper motors and gone 24krpm 3 k water cooled spindle.
Hopefully will keep head chatter down and have plenty of grunt.
Most of our end mills from Onsrund.
Any one have advice on improving vacuum efficiency? What ways of hold down are you using. Tape,glue baffles?

 

[The Big Squeegee]

to from OK

 

[Signscorp]

Curious why you'll need one for lightboxes! Seems like one area where manual cutting would be fine. What were your reasons for purchasing?

 

[Bazzer]

Curious why you'll need one for lightboxes! Seems like one area where manual cutting would be fine. What were your reasons for purchasing?

Sorry I should explain better. light boxes for illuminated signs. Cutting thicker acrylic letters and routing out letters in alu panel. Cutting mdf and plastics.
Making inlay signs of different woods and plastics.
3D carving to make bucks for vacuum forming.
Engraving.
We also require many jigs and templates and new work tables. Yes many can be cut by hand but time is expensive. So we need a little automation and precision.
Looking into draw knife addition to head for core flute shaping.
So this is the kind of box. With back lit 20mm acrylic lettering poking through routed Alupanel.
Then colour printed on translucent media stuck on front of lettering.
We can ship out for parts but feel it’s time to stay in house for speed and efficiency.

 

[Bazzer]

Depends if you're pulling a vacuum through MDF or just running a blower intake through pegboard. For pegboard we loosely wrapped cling wrap around gator foam panels, so we could easily cover large areas. Fresh cling wrap worked great, but if it got loose and into the bit it would stop the spindle.
Pulling through MDF, I just keep a couple of sheets worth of cut down coroplast, throw it around the sheet if I think it needs it, occasionally tape the coro to the material for extra hold. Mostly on lexan letter faces that have been tightly nested.

Depends if you're pulling a vacuum through MDF or just running a blower intake through pegboard. For pegboard we loosely wrapped cling wrap around gator foam panels, so we could easily cover large areas. Fresh cling wrap worked great, but if it got loose and into the bit it would stop the spindle.
Pulling through MDF, I just keep a couple of sheets worth of cut down coroplast, throw it around the sheet if I think it needs it, occasionally tape the coro to the material for extra hold. Mostly on lexan letter faces that have been tightly nested.

Thank you. Not considered cling wrap.

 

[mpuk]

Hi everybody been sign making for a while now.
We are about to take delivery of our newest toy.
A large bed CNC router.
Heading into light boxes in the future.
Any hints or past discussions on cutting acrylics and Alupanel much appreciated.
Bazzer

Hi Bazzer, pls see here for hints and tips on using Alupanel: https://www.multipaneluk.co.uk/assets/uploads/pdf/EN-Fabrication-Manual-2021.pdf

 

[Print1]

Colex is your best option, it’s going to cut everything you throw at it. It’s easy to use and built like a tank

 

[Josh Martinez]

Depends on machine and router you went with?? They make bits for both acrylic and ACM , speeds and feeds are your starting point on any router, but it depends heavily on what your machine tolerances are.
Lots to learn but there’s tons of info online for all the major brands. We have made some really cool projects in the past with our Cnc. Opens you up to new jobs and new projects.

Congratulations on your new toy! If you need help with tool selection, feeds and speed let me know. You can email me or call at josh@xedgetools.com or 866.591.9991.