• 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 ...

How do you contour cut rigid displays without a flatbed cutter?

J

JPR-5690

New Member
How do you all deal with custom cut/contour cut rigid displays if you don't have a flatbed cutter?
i.e. lifesize marketing cut-outs, "bobble heads", types of jobs that dont require a router over a knife.

Sometimes we can cut things out by hand, but for when thats not feasible I'm wondering if there are other tools out there or if it's best just to outsource the whole thing.

The main reason I dont want to outsource is that we're a green printer and we carry materials that most other local shops dont. If I outsource then the product technically loses its eco creds and is probably on products that we dont usually stock.
 
G

GB2

Old Member
It would be helpful to know what kind of material and what quantity you are cutting to be able to offer suggestions. Perhaps you could do your eco-friendly printing and find someone local that you could just outsource the cutting to.
 
J

JPR-5690

New Member
I cant really say anything about quantity because this is just a general how-to question. I'd just like to have some tricks up my sleeve so I dont have to turn away the people that order one-offs.

The trouble I've run into with only outsourcing the cutting is that the closest business (that I've found) that will let me do that is a solid 30min drive away which pretty much means its only cost effective to outsource the entire job.

2B said:
how many are you talking about being contour cut?

you can freehand router the cutting or use
https://www.shapertools.com/
Click to expand...

I tried using a DeWalt hammer drill (lol) and a hand held router. Both tear up the paper display board we use (Eaglecell and Converd mostly). Haven't tried a jigsaw yet so I guess that'll be my next experiment.
 
B

bannertime

Active Member
I just did a stand up today out of 3/16in foamcore and cheap vinyl for a party. Cut by hand, took about 20 minutes total for print, contour, mount, cut out. Easy money. I typically make them out of 1/2in ultraboard and occasionally 1/2 foamcore. Trim them out with a hot knife. The thin stuff can be cut with an Olfa knife or X-acto.
 
C

clarizeyale

New Member
the stroke movements the oscillating knife does on our cnc making cutting corrugated cardboard a breeze. I think if you use a jigsaw, just make sure to get the right blade. ours isn't serrated and it doesn't chew up the boards at all.

rm5690 said:
I cant really say anything about quantity because this is just a general how-to question. I'd just like to have some tricks up my sleeve so I dont have to turn away the people that order one-offs.

The trouble I've run into with only outsourcing the cutting is that the closest business (that I've found) that will let me do that is a solid 30min drive away which pretty much means its only cost effective to outsource the entire job.

I tried using a DeWalt hammer drill (lol) and a hand held router. Both tear up the paper display board we use (Eaglecell and Converd mostly). Haven't tried a jigsaw yet so I guess that'll be my next experiment.
Click to expand...
 
E

equippaint

Active Member
If it couldn't be cut with a knife, id rough trim it then use a bandsaw. Second choice would be a jigsaw. If you're going to do any quantity, get some 3/4 sanded ply, cut the shape with a jigsaw and then use that for a router guide using a template bit with a bottom bearing. (if that's what that bit is called?)
 
Boudica

Boudica

I'm here for Educational Purposes
rm5690 said:
How do you all deal with custom cut/contour cut rigid displays if you don't have a flatbed cutter?
i.e. lifesize marketing cut-outs, "bobble heads", types of jobs that dont require a router over a knife.

Sometimes we can cut things out by hand, but for when thats not feasible I'm wondering if there are other tools out there or if it's best just to outsource the whole thing.

The main reason I dont want to outsource is that we're a green printer and we carry materials that most other local shops dont. If I outsource then the product technically loses its eco creds and is probably on products that we dont usually stock.
Click to expand...

Can you outsource just the cutting? We work with a local company (just down the street) who just does cutting and routing, and that's all they do. I'll set up the files for print with registration, and send him the cut file with the cut path and the same registration. It's a great partnership, and he will sometimes send people our way for printing projects.
 
F

fresh

New Member
10sacer said:
https://www.goliathcnc.com/
Click to expand...

they havent updated their blog in almost a year. did they get past the kickstarter funding? As a side note, I think Kickstarter is BS. I have something I paid for over a year ago, and they still haven't shipped. Does tooling REALLY take over a year to sort out? Its crazy how people risk thousands of dollars on products that don't exist and there is no guarantee they ever will.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top