Cutting Metal on foam

[maginter]

Hi All -

I have to do a sign job and the material is a a combination of a metal substrate that is about .030" thick that is mounted on .500 of foam. I am wanting to know what is the best cutter to use on this? I ran an 1/8" Endmill and got reasonabely preformance, but I only cut two letters. A 1/4" Endmill won't give me as good of detail on the inside corners as the 1/8". but I am concerned about the ability to run the whole job. Any reccomendations on cutters and configurations would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Mark

[signtist]

If you need to use a 1/8" bit. . . . thats the way to do it. Some jobs just take longer to cut.
John
www.signgraphics1.com (http://www.signgraphics1.com)

[knight_toolworks]

1/8" is fine. I just cut 1/2" sintra with one in one pass at 3ips. the one thing I found is you need to sue an upcut bit a downcut leaves a ragged edge on the top of the aluminum.

[maginter]

I was wondering if it could be done in one pass since the real cutting is taking place on the metal. Is there any manufacture of cutter that works better than another, part number, etc.? I ran a downcut 1/8" bit that I had, but it made several passes. It look OK, but I would rather get a cutter that I know will be better suited for this.

Thanks,

Mark

[garyb]

Onsrud 65-012 1/8" single flute SC "O" flute

[maginter]

Thanks for the input..... Got a good source for them?

Mark

[coach]

I get mine from www.onsrud.com (http://www.onsrud.com)
I hear you can get them cheaper from a distributor of Onsrud bits.

[joe]

I don't believe there's a better bit on the market, for this kind of work, than than the Belin O Fute. Not so expensive either!

Their bits are like jewelry and sharp too.

[maginter]

I love the Belin bits but have problems getting them. WHat supplier do you get them from?

Thanks,

Mark

[joe]

http://www.amtcnc.com/osc/index.php

I like their service.

Watch out when opening their little shipping case. These things are the sharpest on the market.

[garyb]

Mark the 65-000 series is the same as the Belin O flute.
Belin is a subsidiary company with Onsrud under the LG group

[joe]

Gary,

Not True.

Both are owned by a praent company. They are seperate company's and produce simular but products of different quality.

[garyb]

Sorry Joe you need to re read I stated " Belin is a subsidiary company with Onsrud under the LG group"

key words "with Onsrud under the LG Group (LG who is parent.)
For your info both Belin and Onsrud share toolings on certain cutter lines as sister companies,the 65-000 series polished O flute being one of them.

I don't believe Onsrud would miss-inform us dealers on this but if you have a certified source that states differently I would be happy to pass it back to the factory for verification.

[joe]

E. Leitz, the manufacturer of some of the worlds best optics for microscopes, camera lenses, and optical devices for space exploration and also owns Belin Tools. They have distributor through the world. Much of the precision technology is developed in Valencia France.
http://www.fette-compacting.com/cps/rde/xchg/fette_de_en/layout.xsl/336.html

I know Onsrud would like to take credit for this fine company, but they have separate and different in philosophy and product quality.


http://www.belin-y.com

They have distributors around the world and extend into services like:
- Ultra Micro grain Solid Carbide - for general use applications
- Natural Diamond - for polishing and special applications
- Polycrystalline Diamond [PCD] - special for Nonferrous Metals
- Cubic Boron Nitride [CBN] - special for Ferrous Metals

Belin and it's subsideraries are not under the control of Onsrud located in Troutman, NC. Onsrud is the manufacturer of Router Tables and Router Bits.
http://www.cronsrud.com/about.html

[garyb]

Joe, basically this is off topic as Mark here just asked for a cutter recommendation.
I will stand aside that you know better.

Incidentally Onsrud Cutter LP is in Libertyville IL and not Troutman NC they separated and moved there in 1946 and became Onsrud Cutter LP, they were purchased in 1980 and became a limited partnership under the LMT group in 1999 and they only make cutters!
CR Onsrud is a total different company idenity.

Onsrud is not trying to take credit for Belin, they are sister companies that share technology together under the one ownership.

Your feathers are too ruffled for me!

[tgm]

I will have to give the recommendation to Belin for this material composition. We have found the difficult part is getting a good finish on the aluminum edge as once you go deep the aluminum is basically sitting on a slab of 'Jello'. Most of these compositions have an additional layer of .03 PVC as a backer for the foam core.
We rough with 1/4" Belin O Flute to get the aluminum and foam chips out and then do a clean pass with 3 flute low helix to get a good finish on both the foam and the aluminum.
We did contact the manufacturer of Ultrex and they had no idea what to do to cut small letters in their own material. We went through a few sheets to finally zero in on a method.

Good Luck,

Tom in PA

ps. and I have to agree with Joe, the Belins are better, by far.

[maginter]

Thanks guys! I really appreciate the input. One last question. Up cut or down cut. I alway prefer down cut just to help keep the material down, but I would like to know what you guys are doing for this type of material.

Thanks again!

Mark

[knight_toolworks]

I found a downcut leaves a bur on the top of the materiel and a upcut leaves a a burr on the bottom. at least with a 2f bit.

[joe]

Steve,

We're talking about the single O flute as the best option

[wcsg]

Belin bits are they best spiral IMHO.

http://www.activemachine.com/

If you have a Montroy or N.Glantz they carry these bits too.

Buy the best, most expensive and only cry once