• I want to thank all the members that have upgraded your accounts. I truly appreciate your support of the site monetarily. Supporting the site keeps this site up and running as a lot of work daily goes on behind the scenes. Click to Support Signs101 ...

Cutting ACM... the right way, the cleanest way...

Patentagosse

Patentagosse

New Member
I'm more big rigs lettering / graphics oriented but like other shops, I don't turn my back on smaller projects when asked by long time customers. I'm getting more & more requests for small signs made of 3mm ACM (call it DiBond, AluPanel, whatever...). Most of the time I cut 'em with my X-Acto and snap 'em on the edge of my table, rub a rod along the sharp edges to smooth 'em (or sand block). For bigger panels (4x4 or 2x8) or bigger projects (quantity) I use my bench saw but it throws chips / chunks / debris everywhere in my installation bay so 'forces me to vacuum the whole floorspace (...). Also, as I don't have "receiving tables" all-around the bench saw, it's kinda difficult to cut a full sheet in (2) 2ft by 8ft pieces by myself (one-man-shop) and anyway cuts are razor-sharp so they still need to be smoothed.

My question (sorry for the long intro): are the ACM cutters like Keen's SteelTrak ST-250 worth the investment? Durability? I like the factory-like rounded edges they make... Could maybe saves me time on the long run.

Give me your inputs / opinions please
 
Johnny Best

Johnny Best

Active Member
Track saw and hook up your vacuum hose to it. Cuts a nice edge which does not need sanding. Very precise and accurate cutting.
Hardly any cleanup.
 
FatCat

FatCat

New Member
Yup, we have a Dewalt track saw and it virtually cuts all materials in our shop - PVC, dibond, acrylic, coro, anything. And its always straight and always a factory finish on the edge. *Just purchases a 4x8 CNC table, so will be able to do more intricate stuff with that, can't wait!
 
S

shoresigns

New Member
Patentagosse said:
Most of the time I cut 'em with my X-Acto and snap 'em on the edge of my table, rub a rod along the sharp edges to smooth 'em (or sand block).
Click to expand...

X-Acto knives are for cutting paper and vinyl. Try a scoring knife instead:

Olfa-Retractable-Plastic-Scoring-Knife.jpg
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
When we're cutting more than 5 feet, we'll use our panel saw. We only clean up once in a while, as it's out in the middle of the bays and it generally doesn't go that far. For most cuts, we use the Fletcher and it does a splendid job on anything up to 6mm. Ours has a laser built in it for making sure you're going straight, but that never seems to be an issue.

If we have lotsa blanks needing to be cut, we'll have our vendor do it. It only holds the whole order up by one day. Totally worth it.
 
DerbyCitySignGuy

DerbyCitySignGuy

New Member
Guillotines and shears are nice in my experience. They leave a really nice edge that doesn't require any finishing. Track saws and panel saws are a close second. Especially if you have a nice one. Minimal edge finishing if you have an appropriate blade for your saw. More versatility from track and panel saws too (especially track saws, everyone should have one).
 
Sign.ed

Sign.ed

New Member
We use our track saw for any volume, but don't have orders with enough quantities to ask our vendor to do it. We do have a shear so anything less than 3' we cut on that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
B

burgmurk

New Member
I use a steeltrak, and it's not terrible. 3mm ACM cuts well, but 4mm can be a struggle, depending on brand. It's fantastic for corflute and foamcore type materials, but those are easily cut on much more simple and cheaper devices.
I'd get a track saw if it were my choice. they're more versatile, and with the right blade you can cut v-grooves and make boxes. In theory the steeltrak can do this with an extra attachment, but i personally wouldn't trust it to do a good job, having used it for straight cuts for 9 months it just doesn't feel 'solid' enough.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top