Cutting a Nylon like material

[davidp]

Has anybody ever cut a material similar to woven nylon. It is not woven but it has that appearance. It is apporximately 1mm thick and very flexible. I am not sure if it is possible to cut it with a router. I am worried about it catching and ending up twisted around the cutter.

I think it may be a case of something the Shopbot can't do!!

Any advice would be appreciated.


David

[stevem]

Do you have any more info on this material? Source?

[dana_swift]

Try sandwiching the material between two pieces of expendable material held together with super-77. The contact adhesive will make a very poor joint with the nylon, so it will peel apart easily when you are done. That makes the "cloth" act like a solid.

When you are all done cutting, you can get rid of the super-77 by wiping it with a naphtha soaked rag. The naphtha will not bother the nylon either.

I frequently use this trick for cutting very very tiny parts, using this for hold down of both the parts and scrap. Works like a charm, just be sure to let the super-77 dry for about a minute before making your material sandwich.

Hope that helps-

D

[khaos]

I agree with Dana. That was my suggestion as well. However the super-77 is an enhancement I had not thought of.

Sharp bits are happy bits.

[davidp]

Thank you Dana,

I will give that a try and get back to the forum with the results.

David

[elcruisr]

Do you have vacuum hold down?

I've done this before with similar material. Just use a down spiral single flute polished O flute tool. Make sure it's designed for soft plastic. Cuts like a charm if you've the right setup.

[davidp]

Eric,

Thank you for the info, we have a 15 hp side channel vacuum holddown.

What sort of feeds have you used also do you use a climb cut or a conventional. I find a climb cut usually produces a better quality cut on plastics.

The supplier is providing a sample for me to try so I will get back as soon as I have cut it.

Regards
David