Flakeboard Melamine

[john_l]

I just bought a full unit of flakeboard melamine and can't seem to get it to cut without chipping the plastic panel face.

I have had very good luck cutting partical core melamine with just a 2 flute, 1/4" up-spiral bit, conventional cut, .2" bite and 2' per second on my PRT bot w/spindle. This setup isnt working very well at all on the flakeboard and now I am in a big pinch to complete the job.

I haven't tried reversing the cut direction but will try that next just to see.

Any quick advice very much appreciated.

[harryball]

If the face is up when on the bot you should probably dry a downspiral or a compression spiral if faced on both sides. Check out Onsruds online catalog for suggestions for bits to cut melamine as well.

/RB

[gary_n]

I have been cutting a lot of double-sided melamine lately with a compression bit, and it works great.

[john_l]

I had an American carbide upcut that was giving me fits. Probably wrong geometry because it was a new bit. I switched to a standard old Lowes variety upcut spiral and it is working great now, no chipping.

Thanks,
John

[harryball]

The helix angle (angle of attack on the material) is probably less aggressive and thus less chipping. You should probably try a compression bit though, Centurion Tools has them for very reasonable prices. They are the safest bet for chip free cutting. Even the bit you are using as it dulls could suddenly cause chipping.

/RB

[Gary Campbell]

John...
I echo what Robert says. We just finished our one and only Melamine job. The substrate was plywood. We used 1/4" and 3/8" Compression bits and got great cut quality.
Gary

[john_l]

Compression is one I do not have yet. I will obtain one soon and definitely use it next time I toss this stuff up on the table.

Thanks

[erniek]

I am using a PRT with spindle to cut double sided melamine. I cut it with a 3/8" single flute compression bit. I'm cutting 5/8" melamine in two passes at 3.75 inches per second at 10800 rpm. You want to make sure that the up cut part of the router bit is shorter than your first pass depth of cut so that it doesn't chip the top surface of the melamine. I've used bosch, freud and onsrad bits.
They all work well. I modified the freud and bosch bits by grinding the up cutter so that it's less than 3/8" tall. I didn't have to modify the onsrad bit since it was a mortise type, which is great but three times the price of the others.

[gene]

John
Call Fred @ centuriontools , I use the 2 flute compression 1/4" and they are very good.

[harryball]

These are what you are looking for starting at about $20 each.

http://www.centuriontools.com/router_bits_toolcase/centurion_tools_showcase.html?splashPG=y&__max=6&p ageID=1&cart=12155821551260701&id1=374&id2=6&id3=7 34&startat=1&--woSECTIONSdatarq=734&--SECTIONSword=ww

I use the mortise style, they give me a good cut through with the little bit of lift I need to keep the bottom clean. I'm cutting 1/2" ACX and it does a fantastic job. I've also cut melamine with them and the sharper the better.

/RB

[richards]

Remember that a compression bit is both an upcut and a downcut spiral combined in one cutter. It is meant to be used as a one-pass cutting tool. If the compression cutter isn't down far enough into the material, it acts as an upcut spiral - which will normally chip the top side of the melamine.

On my PRT-Alpha with a 3hp spindle, I don't have enough vacuum (even with two FEINs) to securely hold melamine in place, so I use a downcut spiral in two passes, leaving 0.015 uncut on the bottom. Then, on the router table, I use a downcut spiral cutter with a bearing on the end to trim the bottom side of each piece.

[ljdm]

Mike - why the trouble holding melamine with 2 Feins - is it too slippery a finish? How's about using a non-slip surface under it? Dollar store rolls of shelf liner, about $5.00 worth would cover the table. Even after cutting through it, still helps with vac hold down(like gasketing) and slip prevention. You can cut through it in a lot of places, and it still works pretty well. Should be good for a lot of sheets, especially if the cuts are repetitive. Oh well, the stuff works good for me on slick surface woods, haven't tried melamine.

[harryball]

Good point on the single pass Mike. With a mortise style compression, you just have to make sure the first pass is deeper than the upcut portion.

I am surprised to hear about the hold down trouble, I've cut a few sheets of dbl sided melamine but by no means anything in production fashion. I use 2 feins and have not experienced any trouble holding peices in place while using a compression bit as it leaves the chips pretty much in place. I have, however, had problems holding materials down with an upcut in a single pass. I find the chips get removed from the kerf increasing leakage and allowing parts to shift while cutting.

/RB

[richards]

I think the vacuum problem with two FEIN vacuums is due to altitude. We can only pull about 5-inches of mercury at our altitude, which gives about 2.5 lbs of hold-down force per square inch.

If I run similar parts, I sometimes use a vacuum mask with gasket. Instead of sucking through an ultra-light MDF spoil board, the mask has openings that allow full vacuum flow under most of the part. That works very well on pieces as small as 12" X 12" with the FEIN vacuums.

However, since many of my sheet layouts are for one-of-a-kind cuts, it's more practical to make multiple cuts and leave a skin than it is to take the time to make masks.

(There is a Thermwood user about 100 miles from me who has to use an 18HP high-flow blower to hold melamine securely. This high-altitude pressure difference is expensive to work around.)

[handh]

John,

Since you have been cutting melamine with no problems but are running into problems with this type of core on the melamine then the trouble in my opinion is not the cutter but the material core. What we have found that if the core is made up of large particles and some of the core pulls out while cutting resulting in the chip out. We have not been able to use the material with the larger chips. I would try a different brand of board and that will cure your problem. We cut melamine using a compression bit with 2 passes with no problems as long as your first cut is at least .375 down into the material, no chip.

My 2 cents.

[beacon14]

I find the wood grain melamine seems much more prone to chipping and damage in handling than the solid colors even though I'm buying both from the same supplier. It could be the thickness or brittleness of the color layer.

[john_l]

I just did an experiment with a scrap of partical core melamine left over from the last run of these work counters I am making. The old stuff still cut cleanly with a simple upcut spiral, at these same speeds. I am getting some complression bits right away but I do think this material is junk.

[bleeth]

All melamine is far from alike. My neighbor buys his from a supplier that typically has product a couple of dollars a sheet less than the duramine that I buy, but I have had zero success at cutting the stuff he gets on the bot, regardless of bit or strategy. You can see core difference quite easily. His suppliers product is much less dense and obviously uses less adhesive in the production. Chips like heck no matter what you do. It has more problems on the edgebander and saw too.

[Gary Campbell]

John...
Anther thing to watch for is bubbles and blems in the face of the melamine. For a recent job I selected the higher priced of 2 choices as the face quality was much better. I was hoping that the hidden stuff was better also.
Gary