Query - Setting up 2 sided, angled work

[johnm]

Folks –

Okay, I have a client that wants a quote for cutting out a bunch of rectangular components out of particle board. The part is 24” long, 2” wide, and has 18 narrow .1 slots cut at a 20 degree angle on both faces of the PB. The prospect wants 2,500+ of these, and she’s in a big hurry. I am trying to figure out the best way to do this – for nesting the parts so that I can flip the work and cut the slots in the reverse side in a group of these parts, rather than one by one (Lordy!)

The slots are closer on one end of the component than the other, so the part is not symmetrical. The slots go the same way, that is, if you were looking at the object with a hidden view, the slots would not be “criss-crossed”

What I was thinking is cutting a group of these parts, say 3 or 4 groups to a 4x8 panel, then simply ripping them to width on the TS, and then trimming them to final length. This would be faster and have less waste than having the ‘bot cut all of the parts out, and then having to deal with tabs, etc….

Would you also have any idea of what I could expect for cutter life? The slots that are being cut are .15 deep. With this many parts, I better figure replacement bits into the overall cost of doing the work.

I’ve laid things out where I had the bot cut the grooves at the 20 degree angle, with the parts parallel to X; and now I am trying tilting the parts and simply having the grooves run parallel to Y. Not sure which way is best, but need to be able to flip the parts and properly hold and register the workpiece for second sided work.

I’d sure appreciate any thoughts y’all might have on this.

TIA,

John Moorhead

[mrdovey]

I do something fairly similar. I set up a registration rail to align the sheet with the x-axis and use a stop block mid-y to ensure accurate work positioning.

I start out by cutting all the slots (mine are curved, but are also angled).

I tried separating the parts on the table saw, but it was faster, easier, and more accurate just to do all the cutting on the 'Bot.

Once the slots are all cut, I make the long cuts between the parts.

Finally, I make the cuts across the short ends to free the parts.

It's a lot easier if you lay the parts out so that their length is parallel to the x-axis and leave a waste area at the y-extremes for clamping.

You won't be able to cut 4 rows of parts out of a 96" sheet - so plan on cutting three rows and using the ends of the sheets as another waste area for clamping.

I'd order a handful of solid carbide 3-flute end mills and see how long the first lasts to get a rough idea of tooling life. If you need more, you can always get on the phone and have more FedEx'd.

HTH