What bit should i use to cut corrugated plastic on cnc?

[0igo]

Does anyone with a cnc know if its possible to get clean cuts out of corrugated plastic on a cnc machine? i cut it using an spiral upbit and it left the edges ugly. maybe i went to fast? is there a bit that you guys have used that works?

 

[Raum Divarco]

Does anyone with a cnc know if its possible to get clean cuts out of corrugated plastic on a cnc machine? i cut it using an spiral upbit and it left the edges ugly. maybe i went to fast? is there a bit that you guys have used that works?

while is generally is better to cut with an oscillating tool, there are router bits for honeycomb materials etc. that are applications for straight flute tooling.
you might also want to look into more cnc endmills that have many small teeth.
you might find limitations depending on shank size etc.

 

[ikarasu]

The flutes are thin plastic that just get pushed around.... We've never had luck cutting it perfect with our router. Even the drag knife does the same thing in certain spots.


We have a soldering iron we run across the edges that look bad.... The plastic is so thin it just melts off. It's been the easiest way we can find to clean it.

 

[0igo]

The flutes are thin plastic that just get pushed around.... We've never had luck cutting it perfect with our router. Even the drag knife does the same thing in certain spots.


We have a soldering iron we run across the edges that look bad.... The plastic is so thin it just melts off. It's been the easiest way we can find to clean it.

Thank you for this I almost bought that knife tool...they’re expensive also lol. Luckily I’m just cutting out a big outline of my sons face so I guess I’ll just clean the edges.

 

[zspace]

We haven’t found a router bit that cuts coroplast well. Reciprocating knives are the way to go for CNC. If you don’t have one,then for a short run you would do better hand cutting with an exacto knife. For a large run outsource it.

 

[MoultrieMade]

I have had good results using a Donek drag knife with X-acto blades for 3mm coro. I edit my cut file to soften any inside corners. This eliminates the need for the knife to raise up in Z to make a sharp turn. I do the same for outside corners, or add loops if I want them to stay sharp. I'm generating my tool path with the drag knife gadget in Vectric Aspire.

I've only done a few jobs with 6mm+ coro, but a 1/4" O-flute bit seemed to give the best results there. The corrugations were heavy enough for the bit to cut them rather than fold them over like it does in the 3mm material.

 

[johnnysigns]

Higher feed rates seems to help on coro. A new sharp tool also really helps. I can dig up feed rates we've used from our CNC if you need a baseline.

 

[Reveal1]

Looks like you lost a few fingers on the router there 0igo.

 

[White Haus]

Higher feed rates seems to help on coro. A new sharp tool also really helps. I can dig up feed rates we've used from our CNC if you need a baseline.

Would love to check it out if you get a chance to dig this up. Thanks!

 

[johnnysigns]

We use these speeds at different depths for either perimeter/through cuts or scores for folding at a lesser depth. I believe I got some of this info many years ago on here from Typestries who was nice enough to share it. If you're comfortable with your machine moving at faster feed rates you can scale the RPM up to match. We use a simple feed rate calculator I downloaded online somewhere. I'm sure if you google: cnc feed rate exe some links should pop up to grab one.

0.250" Tool Single Flute Upcut
10500 RPM at 400 IPM with a plunge of 100 IPM

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

Compression bits work well as long as the compression is in the gap.

 

[SharpCut]

We're currently using 6mm upcut/downcut (if overlay) for coroplast. We've put in an enormous amount of time R&D on this. If you're cutting straight edges, you can use a heavy duty single edge knife. Curves need an oscillating or router.
Router you want between 18-20k, counter clockwise on clockwise path, 2-pass. Works for us on 10mm coro.

 

[letterworks]

We're currently using 6mm upcut/downcut (if overlay) for coroplast. We've put in an enormous amount of time R&D on this. If you're cutting straight edges, you can use a heavy duty single edge knife. Curves need an oscillating or router.
Router you want between 18-20k, counter clockwise on clockwise path, 2-pass. Works for us on 10mm coro.

10mm is easy.

But a compression bit, as recommended just above, is the same as the upcut / downcut you mention.

I used a 1/8 compression bit with 4mm with vinyl mounted and it worked pretty well on a few hundred "wing" pieces.

 

[Print1]

Does anyone with a cnc know if its possible to get clean cuts out of corrugated plastic on a cnc machine? i cut it using an spiral upbit and it left the edges ugly. maybe i went to fast? is there a bit that you guys have used that works?

what type of CNC machine are you using? For example, If you are using a sharpcut then using our corplast knife would be the best option for contour cuts all the way down to 1/2" detail on 4mm coroplast.
If you are using a standard 6mm collet on any other machine then using an upcut single flute bit would work well, You would have to dial in your feed rates but would be successful getting a nice edge on 4mil all the way up to 10mil. our T00502, T00500 are great for this application. https://www.colex.com/product/t00502-upcut-router-bit/

 

[SharpCut]

10mm is easy.

But a compression bit, as recommended just above, is the same as the upcut / downcut you mention.

I used a 1/8 compression bit with 4mm with vinyl mounted and it worked pretty well on a few hundred "wing" pieces.

I still have yet to try a compression on 10mm. I'm getting us one soon to give it a whirl.

We have better luck using drag knife for 4mm than anything else. We only use the router for 10mm. Just for my curiosity, why do you use the router on 4mm? Wondering if there's something I can learn here.

 

[letterworks]

I still have yet to try a compression on 10mm. I'm getting us one soon to give it a whirl.

We have better luck using drag knife for 4mm than anything else. We only use the router for 10mm. Just for my curiosity, why do you use the router on 4mm? Wondering if there's something I can learn here.

Nothing to learn, I don't have a drag knife!

 

[Adam.Foster]

Gerbers GP BIT P80356A 1/8” Shank 1/16” CD 1/4”CEL 2”OAL works very well for cutting 4mm Coroplast. A good starting point for feed rate is around 240ipm/ 4ips.

 

[signmania]

Gerbers GP BIT P80356A 1/8” Shank 1/16” CD 1/4”CEL 2”OAL works very well for cutting 4mm Coroplast. A good starting point for feed rate is around 240ipm/ 4ips.

Would you recommend the same bit for Sintra (3mm)? I hate removing the "fuzz" from stencils.

 

[Adam.Foster]

signmania , Yes same bit works great on 3mm and 6mm Sintra. A good starting point for a clean edge is around 120ipm/2 ips. You can speed it up from that value till you don't like the edge it's leaving.

 

[Raum Divarco]

Would you recommend the same bit for Sintra (3mm)? I hate removing the "fuzz" from stencils.

Do you have knife cutting options.
For stencils i often do not use the router so i dont have to consider internal tool radius conflicts.
Typical Oscillating tools and drag knifes work quite well with 3mm sintra.
I too hate the fuzz