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Cutting Balsa With Phlatprinter Mk1 and Mk2

Discussion in 'General Talk Forum' started by giuseppi, Dec 20, 2014.

  1. giuseppi

    giuseppi New Member

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    Hello Everyone,

    I don't know for sure where I should post as my "Phlatprinter" is not a real Phlatprinter, but I'm hoping to have as many sets of eyes find my post as possible, so I'm placing it here.

    Here's a link to my Wannabe Hybrid post, in case anyone's curious enough to have a look at what I built: http://www.phlatforum.com/xenforo/posts/37107/

    I got all the bugs worked out and have been cutting 3D Puzzles from $$$ Tree Foam Board with great success. I've been using a plain old drill bit for a rotary cutter on the foam board.

    Recently, I picked up some nice used carbide router bits from eBay. They all are 1/8" shank . I've included a picture of a couple of them as examples. The first one pictured is a 1mm fluted fishtail bit. I have others similar to this in different diameters. I also picked up a few that have a drill point. Also, as I'm not clear on the technical name for this other type of bit pictured it has more of a diamond shaped cross hatch pattern for cutting.

    Is anyone who has a bottom up cutting style Phlatprinter; theMkI or MkII, cutting balsa wood on their machine and can you in as much detail as you care to divulge, describe the settings you use and the type of guiding mechanism used to align the balsa sheets in the machine? I'm more the visual type of learner, so the more pictures the better.

    Thanks,

    g
     

    Attached Files:

  2. swarfer

    swarfer Moderator Staff Member

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    try this

    for some hints on feed rate etc.

    I believe those are 'burr' bits, work very nicely on foam, maybe not so good in balsa, I would prefer a bit with actual cutting flutes for wood.

    Do use one of the online feed rate calculators to calculate feed rate from your spindle rpm.

    then, adjust cut depth to keep your machine happy, I'd start at a multipass depth of 1/4 diameter of your bit and increase slowly to where the bit gets full of chips or the spindle slows down, then back off to the last setting where it did not bog down.
     
  3. giuseppi

    giuseppi New Member

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    Crude.jpg

    Here's how I've decided to mount the balsa sheets in the machine. Since I'm set up to cut sheets of $$$ Tree Foam Board with guides in place for that size sheet. All I'll have to do is make a cutout in a sheet of the $$$ Tree foam board the same dimension as the size of the balsa and use that as a carrier to position the balsa sheet for cutting. I've included a crude to drawing to illustrate how I'll go about it.

    I'll just have to sacrifice some balsa I suppose to figure out tool sizes and feed rates. I'm hoping someone might weigh in with settings they've used.
     
  4. TigerPilot

    TigerPilot Well-Known Member

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    I have been using the $tree foam as carrier all the time. I use it to cut wood, like 3/4" hardwood, MDF and so on. It's the only way to get a good traction. I use spray can glue to stick the wood to the paper on the foam. Don't bother to cut a pocket in the foam. When I cut a narrow piece of wood I put it on one side of the printer and put another piece, the same thickness, on the other side so that the pressure bars sit evenly. Otherwise I get shifting.

    As for tool size, I use mainly 1/16" bits. Make shallow cuts. Start with low speeds, 30ipm and go up from there if you feel the machine can make it.
     
    Last edited: Dec 22, 2014
  5. giuseppi

    giuseppi New Member

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    Hey thanks for the advice.

    Do you have any pictures of your setup with the wood or MDF mounted? As previously stated, I tend to be more the visual and less visualize type of information processor.
     
  6. rcav8r

    rcav8r Moderator Staff Member

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    FWIW, I cut a lot of balsa and aircraft Ply with my PP MK1.5 (modified for belt drive) I didn't use a carrier, and it worked just fine. I did make some adjustable fences to capture the balsa/ply so they didn't get pushed around. Worked just fine.
    If I remember correctly used a 1/16" 4 flute bit at about 30-40 IPM with about 3/32 depth of cut. Can't really remember any issues
     
  7. giuseppi

    giuseppi New Member

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    Thanks, rcav8r. That's also some useful detailed info I can use.

    I was thinking about 1mm cuts which would require approx. 3 passes for a sheet of 1/8" balsa and plywood. Your recommendation of 3/32" passes are around 2.5 times what I was thinking. Part of my dilemma is in that my stepper motors aren't as powerful as what the PPMk1.5 uses. I can't use as much roller down force to hold the material. I guess what I'm trying to say is that in order to make the same DOC on my machine as what you would use it will most likely require more surface area to maintain traction on the rollers rather than a dependance on weight from above to prevent slipping. So the carrier sheet might be a necessity in my particular case.

    I do appreciate the information. I just need to find me some scrap and make some test runs to find out what it can tolerate.

    I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and good wishes from me to all of you on the New Year.

    g
     

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