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IndustryArena Forum > WoodWorking Machines > CNC Machining Centers > What type of CNC Machine to use to cut polyethylene
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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2023
    Posts
    1

    What type of CNC Machine to use to cut polyethylene

    Hello All -

    Completely new to CNC (have been manually cutting for a long time). We are starting to cut hundreds of identical shapes (250mmx300mm) out of 160g/sm2 polyethylene UD sheets. These sheets are only a mm thick or so and are about 60" wide. I can rip these into more narrow sheets if needed. I need to cut hundreds of these off 100 meter rolls. In addition to that - I need to trim the edges (router) off square 250mmx300mm 12mm thick polyethlene solid shapes (put radian where there are corners.

    What type of machine should I be looking for that can accomplish both tasks? Thank you.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Posts
    5717

    Re: What type of CNC Machine to use to cut polyethylene

    Polyethylene cuts like hot butter, so doesn't take much of a machine to do what you want. The problem with polyethylene is it's also slippery like butter and is requires some work holding creativity when full profiling the outside of a part. A vacuum table might hold it, I have had mixed results doing it that way. Basically any CNC router will do the job, you just need to choose the size that best fits your floor space and budget. You can buy machines that handle 60'' wide material.

    But if you don't need to round the corners on the 1mm thick parts, a sheet metal shear would be my first choice. Pretty easy to automate at least one part of the process that way.
    Jim Dawson
    Sandy, Oregon, USA

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    4280

    Re: What type of CNC Machine to use to cut polyethylene

    Hi,
    polyethylene is often considered pretty hard to machine, not because its hard, it is a soft ans butter to reuse Jim's phrase but the chips tend to come off in long strings and wrap around the tool.
    Any heat,and the is always some, and the whole lot welds itself back into a lump, a PITA.

    I use flood cooling, and lots of it, partly for cooling but mostly for flushing the chips out of the cut-zone.

    If buying material for machining then consider acetal, its somewhat more forgiving than polyethylene, it forms chips whereas polyethylene forms strings. I still use coolant though. It quite a bit more expensive
    however, most of my parts are small so material cost is a tiny fraction of the cost of the part.

    Craig

  4. #4

    Re: What type of CNC Machine to use to cut polyethylene

    Type 1 digital knife cnc ,
    EVA ? v + Pneumatic Oscillating Tool)
    https://youtu.be/qQAsNkG9JQs
    https://youtu.be/iR4FbkNNxzY


    Foam ( Pneumatic Oscillating Tool)
    Shadow Foam/ Tool Foam Cutting Machine


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H83e_1uqJlw
    https://youtu.be/NF4t6Jt9Xx0

    Type 2 , cnc spindle +tools.
    Flight Case from ATC
    https://youtu.be/CMergt2OHQk
    Mold –foam boat
    https://youtu.be/eiS_8aiY09Y
    impeller
    https://youtu.be/NYrfLbFPhqM

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