Shearing Vinyl and metal together, Good or Bad

[Esmae]

I have a smallish metal guillotine that we trim .7mm painted mild steel (in australia we call this colourbond) in the past i have applied 5year print media laminated onto this metal, then have trimmed it on the guillotine directly through the laminate, print media and colourbond. which leaves the vinyl at the absolute edge. I hope my description is sufficient.

My question is: are there any issues with this method? Or does everyone do it? Look forward to your answers

 

[cgsigns_jamie]

I use our shear to cut down Aluminum and DiBond panels with the print already applied all the time.
I usually apply application tape to the prints when I do this to prevent the shear from scratching the print.

 

[Malkin]

+1 to what Jamie said. Seems to work well.

 

[Esmae]

Thanks for the answers, my main concern is, will it have any impact on the longevity of the sign as opposed to leaving say a 5mm margin from the edge of the vinyl to the edge of the metal. Is dibond the equivilent to my colourbond description?

 

[Malkin]

DiBond
Vinyl to the edge shouldn't be a problem.

 

[snappysigns]

I too use that method. I like to use a file at a 45 degree angle to finish the edge and keep it from lifting off. This is the same method used for laminate countertops.

 

[artbot]

+1 on the beveling back the edge. it is a must. i use a makita #9031 with the platen attachment taken off. the belt will wrap over the edge and give you a perfect 1/16" of missing material.

 

[Ian Stewart-Koster]

Is dibond the equivilent to my colourbond

From one Aussie to another: No!

Colourbond signwhite is steel with a heat-set coat of paint, made by BHPsteel-roughly 0.6mm thick, heavyish & floppy. You need metalworking tools to work with it.

Dibond is available from Alcan till they were bought out by I cannot remember who.
It's a thin sheet of painted aluminium on each face & a polyethylene core, totalling 3mm thick, light & rigid. It is machinable with woodworking tools.

I use Alupanel these days as a high quality dibond-type product. There are plenty of el-cheapo dibond imitations-use at your peril. They frequently have an 0.1mm aluminium face, instead of the 0.3mm Al face. I barely use colourbond now. Alupanel is dearer, but way better and worth the difference. Signsheet Distributors carry it-FREE delivery to Toowoomba, too.

 

[MikePro]

we have a 22' industrial shear that drops steel arms to hold the material during the cut, so I mask my prints and shear with a piece of scrap aluminum placed over the part of my graphic to keep the steel arms from denting/knicking my graphic.

After removing the masking tape, i go back around the edges with an Xacto knife, not cutting but shaving with a downward scraping motion.

 

[astrofan]

If the panel is used outdoors I prefer to leave an exposed border because after a while in the elements shrinkage occurs and if there was already a border, the shrink is not as apparent.

Just a thought.

 

[Esmae]

From one Aussie to another: No!

Colourbond signwhite is steel with a heat-set coat of paint, made by BHPsteel-roughly 0.6mm thick, heavyish & floppy. You need metalworking tools to work with it.

Dibond is available from Alcan till they were bought out by I cannot remember who.
It's a thin sheet of painted aluminium on each face & a polyethylene core, totalling 3mm thick, light & rigid. It is machinable with woodworking tools.

I use Alupanel these days as a high quality dibond-type product. There are plenty of el-cheapo dibond imitations-use at your peril. They frequently have an 0.1mm aluminium face, instead of the 0.3mm Al face. I barely use colourbond now. Alupanel is dearer, but way better and worth the difference. Signsheet Distributors carry it-FREE delivery to Toowoomba, too.

Ahh OK, I've just always known it as AluBond or composite panel. I use it when the need arises. Different suppliers = different names i suppose