removing "chips" from dibond

Hi Brian,

I am quite new to CNC but I have been working on Dibond a lot lately. I have also found that Dibond kicks up a lot of swarf when cutting. I have managed to cut back on it by up rating my extraction system.

In terms of bits I have been using a 4mm clockwise bit at 17,000rpm. The feed speed on larger Dibond letters is about 1700mm per minute. Slowing this right down to 300mm per minute helps on the smaller stuff.

Have you thought about using wide doubled sided vinyl? We can get d/s the same size as regular vinyl. I normally use this to stick the dibond to a peice of PVC (keeping the carrier tape on the dibond). Works well for me as the d/s vinyl is not too tacky and doesn't leave a residue.

I am waiting for some new router bits that might be ideal for you. Some of the bits I am getting are specifically designed for cutting letters from acrylic etc. They come in size from 3mm upto 6mm.

If you let me know what height and style of letter you are cutting I will give it ago on my machine with these new bits. If I get good results I will give you the contact details of my supplier- a box of 10 4mm font cutters with 1/4 shank works out at $38 per box. (all sizes are the same price as are the engraving cutters. 6.35mm end mills are $23 for 10). There is a minimum order of $500 after your first inital order. Shipping is $20- 30 and delivery is roughly 3-4 days.

Hope this helps.

(PS I have a source in the far east for mirror, marble and coloured metallic Dibond- problem is you have to buy 20ft containers at a time. Price is from $6.50 per square meter on a 4 x 8 3mm sheet).

 

This may help.

can you reverse the direction of the cut? If you cut clockwise around a circle and have shaving problems, cut the same circle counter clockwise. I use a .150 two flute straight bit. I also run about 15000 - 17000 with great results.