[zcream]

I was considering a physical cut too. But I have no idea where to buy the die cutter or the rolling pin for this type of work..

Most of the companies I called seemed to make stuff for industry - nothing for a single piece..I guess I need a custom round cut and a custom rectangular cut..

Any suggestions for the rolling pin ??

Yes, a 40W should have no issues with that thickness. That said, even a Chinese laser may be an expensive option for such a small volume, not to mention the smell. Since the tubes often won't last but a year or two, you'll have to consider replacement and upkeep value.

The cut seems quite simple... have you considered a physical cut? A rolling pin about 20mm in diameter with the proper blades installed could take a roll of rubber matting and chop out all 100 in about 5-10 minutes.

[zcream]

Thanks for that. I am going to try get a manual tool - failing which I will go for laser.
You can also cut acrylic - which is interesting..

a 40 watt Seal Engraver like the XJ-40 listed on my website was primarily made to cut and engrave rubber seals and stamps. The XJ-40 has an internal holding mechanism the size you need already built in. You could do 100 pieces in a day. Check out http://www.syselaser.com/?q=node/139. I sell this into Australia for $750 USD plus shipping, customs and GST. It comes with a spare laser tube.

[Pete Stenabaugh]

zcream,

you dont need a rolling pin design, just use a flat plate with the die cutter imbeded in the plate. From there you only need an inexpensive hydraulic press to cut the parts. It is likely cheaper to get a flat plate made. There are lots of companies that will do that for a one-off project. This is the method used for cutting paper and cardboard for making/folding boxes.

Trying to wrap cutters around a circular object is complicated as you have to compensate for the curvature, flat is easy and much cheaper.

Pete

[zcream]

I can visualize that.. What kind of places would make this ? A machine shop ? Or a toolmaker ?

zcream,

you dont need a rolling pin design, just use a flat plate with the die cutter imbeded in the plate. From there you only need an inexpensive hydraulic press to cut the parts. It is likely cheaper to get a flat plate made. There are lots of companies that will do that for a one-off project. This is the method used for cutting paper and cardboard for making/folding boxes.

Trying to wrap cutters around a circular object is complicated as you have to compensate for the curvature, flat is easy and much cheaper.

Pete

[Pete Stenabaugh]

zcream:

You will have to check out places that offer die cutting services such as companies that make gaskets, boxes, and such. You might check your local phone book yellow pages for 'die cutting' or maybe just do a google search if you cant find someone locally. If you pattern is not too complicated, you might expect to pay something like $100 or so, but a stamping die like that will cut hundreds of parts in a reasonable time. If you are looking to cut thousands, then this may not be the most economical way, in which case laser cutting may be better, but that depends again on the material, as some materials do not cut well with a CO2 laser, you would have to test the material before committing to laser work.

You might be able to cut them with a small arbor press depending on the size of the part and the material used. The blade they use is pretty much just a strip of heat treated steel maybe about 1/2" wide and about .025" thick (like a bi-metal band saw blade). They sharpen one side and press the blunt side into a groove in a piece of wood or metal or plastic (depends on what you are doing) to create the shape.

You could also get these companies to stamp the parts out for you as well most likely which might save you the problem of having a press to do it.

Hope this helps.

Pete :wave:

[SyS-e]

Get yourself a small laser cutter from a reliable laser supplier and be done with it!

I find it humourous that some previously advocated a laser for this who now supports an old method or rolling or stamping parts with knife machine which has got to be the oldest technology around.

[Pete Stenabaugh]

Sys-e:

You are so intent on sellng someone a machine, that you are not looking at the economics of the situation. If this person is looking for the ability to make a multitude of different parts, then perhaps a laser might be the answer. However a 40W CO2 laser (not and RF unit) is not going to have a really high cutting speed on some materials, so it may take a few minutes to cut out this small single part.

On the other hand a small manual arbor press (if it has enough power) will cut the parts out in one pass with one press in seconds. He could make several parts in the time it takes to cut one part with the laser. If he had to purchase the tooling, an arbor press for about $150 and a die for maybe $100 is much cheaper and much faster than a laser, regardless of the cost of the laser.

I cant see that a laser for $750 is going to be a high quality unit. I have a Chinese 80W laser that I paid $3500 for and I have seen the quality of this unit, the quality of workmanship, the crappy software etc, so believe me - you get what you pay for on a cheap laser. So to pay $750 for a CO2 laser, makes me really gun shy. My replacement laser tube costs about 1/2 the price of that, which is cheap (from China) or the same as that from a US supplier, which is still reasonable.

I know the cutting speed of my 80W unit, and I could not cut parts as fast on the laser as I could by hand, especially as they get more complicated, the cutting time increases substantially. Yes a laser is hands off and you could nest many parts and go away for a while and do something else, but it is all a matter of economics. If he needed to do some engraving on it at the same time, then we have a different situation, and then a laser might make sense, but in this case he is talking merely about cutting the parts out.

He would be foolish to pay even that much for a laser to do a single task, but as I mentioned, if we wants to make various parts, then some type of laser may be worthwhile, but I would advise him strongly to check out the machinery before he buys. Like I say, most times you get what you pay for.

Pete

[SyS-e]

The costs associated for your view is for one part, imagine having to repeat that cost for each part, then it quiickly becomes uneconomical, this is one of the reasons laser technology is now used.

Just because you had a bad buying experience for whatever reason doesn't mean everyone will, so its unfair to put down Chinese technology as not all of it is bad quality, there is wher I come in having visited these factories, and trade shows. Your laser must be very slow. My 50 watts will cut out a full A3 sheet of gaskets 5mm thick in 2 minutes flat. My units also accept files directly from Adobe and Corel draw.

Don't make such a personal issue out of it, I'm only trying to help, but you feel you have to get personal and insult me and the Chinese to get your point across holds no credentials for anyone

[MacGyver]

Get yourself a small laser cutter from a reliable laser supplier and be done with it!

I find it humourous that some previously advocated a laser for this who now supports an old method or rolling or stamping parts with knife machine which has got to be the oldest technology around.

The costs associated for your view is for one part, imagine having to repeat that cost for each part, then it quiickly becomes uneconomical, this is one of the reasons laser technology is now used.

Just because you had a bad buying experience for whatever reason doesn't mean everyone will, so its unfair to put down Chinese technology as not all of it is bad quality, there is wher I come in having visited these factories, and trade shows. Your laser must be very slow. My 50 watts will cut out a full A3 sheet of gaskets 5mm thick in 2 minutes flat. My units also accept files directly from Adobe and Corel draw.

Don't make such a personal issue out of it, I'm only trying to help, but you feel you have to get personal and insult me and the Chinese to get your point across holds no credentials for anyone

Sys-e, your last title is so ironic... "I AM IN THE BUSINESS OF HELPING PEOPLE"... No, you're in the business of selling something, and the stench of what you're selling is starting to stink up these forums. You are so intent on selling machines under the guise of useful advice, you completely fail to pay attention to what the customer wants or the economics of what you suggest. You have continually chosen to push the high-cost solution to everything... lasers when they may not be necessary or warranted, bigger lasers when a small one will do, and on and on. You're not even a good salesman as they at least suggest appropriate solutions to their customers, even if it means loss of a sale. Nothing makes a customer more unhappy than learning they overpaid for a solution, and you're eager and willing to help them learn that lesson.

Contrary to your belief, nowhere in this thread did I advocate a laser for zcream's issue. I answered his question on whether or not it would work, but as someone who is truly here to help (not sell sell sell), I suggested a possible alternative to a laser which might prove cheaper and easier in the short and long term. I believed his material was on a continuous roll, therefore the suggested rolling pin stamp. Pete realized the rubber may be in sheet form and properly suggested a standard arbor press stamp. As both Pete and I mentioned (and you amazingly fail to see), zcream's needs may be met more economically and with greater speed using something other than a laser if his design is simple and there will be no need to do much else with the design down the road. But you didn't care about that, you saw a potential sale, because you're a salesman. Unlike you, we are considering the cost per part, and the speed with which one could be made with a simple press, making our suggestion of a press possibly more economical...zcream will have to fill us in on some more details first. But you like to ignore those little details, don't you, because they mean a sale at any cost.

I didn't have a bad buying experience with a Chinese laser as you suggest Pete did, and yet I'm still not recommending it for this job without more details. You claim " my 50 watts will cut out a full A3 sheet of gaskets 5mm thick in 2 minutes flat"... so? What if an arbor press can do the same but in 5 seconds for 1/10th the cost? Still sound like a laser is a good deal?

No where in Pete's post did I see him getting personal (I'll take that credit, as someone needs to keep you off of your high horse), and he certainly wasn't bashing Chinese machines. He did, however, bring up some possible issues with going to a laser, such as cost and speed... yet again, issues you want to gloss over because why? Yep, you guessed it, you make a sale!

Personally, I think you should peddle your wares someplace else, because you certainly have no interest in "helping people", unless you mean helping them clean out their bank account.

[ger21]

Let's keep this civil in here, as I'd hate to have to read 800+ posts to see which need to be edited or deleted..

[MonoNeuron]

This thread is getting way off topic but for mine I am with Pete and would go for the strip knife cutter. For the amount you want per month I just can't see the benefit of a laser cutter UNLESS you can come up with alternate jobs for one.
Check out the Sizzix die cutters for scrap booking as they may have a die close to what you want. There are hundreds of them available for a few dollars each and you could fabricate a die stamp press machine relatively easily for one with a cam action. I'm not sure if they could cut much more than 2.5mm thick though.
Check Ebay for them to get an idea and see what's out there.
Lets all be civil here and get back to what this site is intended for. I for one don't want to read defamatory comments. We all have an opinion and if it's not helping others then PM the person you have the issue with but please don't let it clog up an already extreeeeamely LONG thread. I feel sorry for the new guy that has to read all of them :-)
You guys a very knowledgeable in your own aspects so lets all have a group hug and get back to what we do best. Help people.
Rich.

[txcowdog]

This place http://www.psdcdies.com/ makes cutting dies to be used in a hydraulic or a mechanical press. I use these dies and a hydraulic cutting press (which is called a "clicker") and my machine operators cut 10,000 pieces per machine per day. When you want to cut a different part it is as easy as picking up a different cutting die. A laser would NEVER be able to achieve these cutting rates on their best days.

[MacGyver]

This place http://www.psdcdies.com/ makes cutting dies to be used in a hydraulic or a mechanical press.

Bookmarked... thanks!

[FERCHO]

hi friends this machines of chinaare a ****!!!!!!!!!!! i have one wklaser and dont fucntion six monts ago, and the quality of engraver is very extrange, dont buy this machines are many problems with the installation and the support is a ****.....

[lamicron]

Fercho, what do you need , maybe we can help.

[ggomezurraca]

Hello Community,this is my first time that post this message,and I have a question, How can I Pattent a product.
And I would like to have information about the low cost Laser Engraver.
Thanks
Raul Gomez

[MacGyver]

Hello Community,this is my first time that post this message,and I have a question, How can I Pattent a product.
And I would like to have information about the low cost Laser Engraver.
Thanks
Raul Gomez

Your first question is not appropriate to this forum, as well as having an extremely long-winded explanation.

Your second question is too vague to have an appropriate answer. There is a ton of useful information here, all you have to do is use the search function. Otherwise, you'll have to ask more specific questions.

[mexico.redsail]

Hello, you could try on www.hflaser.com, their M500 is one of the best machines personaly i have setup over 12 units in mexico with no problem, also you might want to check www.ams-laser.com they have nice print driver units controlled by LPT port, starting at 5,000usd.

[mexico.redsail]

hi friends this machines of chinaare a ****!!!!!!!!!!! i have one wklaser and dont fucntion six monts ago, and the quality of engraver is very extrange, dont buy this machines are many problems with the installation and the support is a ****.....

Hello,
im verry sorry that it tunred out wrong for you, i have in several times offered free e-mail tech support to redsail customers and also free help to non redsail customers, i highly recommend the M500 machine from redsail and i will stand behind my recommendation by offerinf free tech support by e-mail to any one who purchases such machine, i will be happy to assist you in getting your machine back to working order if you can please provide more detail on the problem you have.

regards

Eduardo
[email protected]

[muqtadir]

Hi

Any body have an idea to engrave Crystal by Laser. I would like to know what are the parameters (speed, laser power to engrave and what is recommended laser machine in watt 40, 50, 60.).

I will appreciate for the help.

Regards.