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Cutting 0.032" plastic sheet?


denders

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Denders,

 

Using Cameo 4 with a fairly new regular blade in carriage holder 1, the deepest I've cut in plastic is .015 with these settings:

Force 31

Speed 1

Passes 2

Depth 8

Takes some trial and error, but the above should be good for starters in "tuning" your specific machine to the plastic you are using (plastic hardness varies - a lot).

 

You may be able to "do" the .032" plastic by scoring with multiple passes and then bending the outlines to snap/tear the scores.

 

The Cameo 4 has increased pressure in carriage holder 2 which will take craft blades to supposedly cut deeper material with more force. However, I've found the way the machine cuts in this mode is not precise enough for my scale modeling.

 

Gene K

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Thanks, Gene. I'm definitely going to have to experiment with it.

 

Hmmm, thinking about it, if I use an auto blade, set the first pass at depth 1 and make perhaps a couple of passes. Then without removing the material from the cutter, run it again with a depth of 2, etc. I'm wanting to cut two 1/16" wide rings with a 1.25" OD.

 

Something to work at.

 

Dave

 

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And it just occurred to me that I was mixing up measuring units in my first post. The blade depth, IIRC, is tenths of a millimeter.

 

So, using the idea of my post above this one, I would need to go all the way to depth 9 to get a clean cut through, theoretically. 😉

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On 1/12/2023 at 4:58 PM, denders said:

So, using the idea of my post above this one, I would need to go all the way to depth 9 to get a clean cut through, theoretically. 😉

Try the settings I suggested above (on .010 or .015), and then stack those clean cut pieces to get your desired thickness. Laminate with Tamiya Extra Thin Quick Set cement to avoid melting/deforming.

 

If you have a Cameo 4, using the the craft blade in the second blade holder (more force) should work well since you'll be making a continuous circular cut vice "Smart Cut" as explained very well here. The poster uses the method you suggested as regards to multiple passes with different force (depth) settings. I found Smart Cut not to my liking since I was cutting small parts (1/72) that had a lot of corners to negotiate. In the end, I was too busy (lazy) to dial the cuts in, so I use my tried and true "regular" method using the "regular" blade holder.

 

Good cutting! I'd be interested to know your final determination.

 

Gene

 

EDIT. I was just reading through older posts and see that you have a Cameo 4 since 2020, so I'm not telling you anything new.:classic_blush:

 

Edited by GeneK
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NP, Gene.

 

I used .010" sheet and cut 8 circles to glue together.

 

spacer.png

 

I used an Autoblade

I used settings:

Depth 3

Force 25

Passes 2

Speed 6 (I forgot to change it slower)

 

The circles weren't cut all the way through and I had to finish them with a scalpel. Probably affected by the speed. I could have set the depth to 4 too. Supposedly each increment in the depth is 0.1 mm which converts to .00393", with a depth setting of 3 it should have been .0118". Next time I'll try to remember to slow it down and set the depth to 4.

 

The ring is for the cowling supports (12) as highlighted in this photo.

 

spacer.png

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Sorry friends, only just picked up on this thread. The answer is “yes”, I bought a special blade and cut this:

 

YbxqEd.jpg

 

which is the centre section of a sliding canopy for my Harvard. The resin ones that I bought were too thick to have the front section slid back, so I measured and cut these, painted it inside and out and glued it in place, not even glazed, didn't to be because it was hidden between sections 1 and 3:

 

qTV6YU.jpg


Max 

Edited by Mozart
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  • 4 months later...
On 1/22/2023 at 2:59 PM, Mozart said:

Sorry friends, only just picked up on this thread. The answer is “yes”, I bought a special blade and cut this: 

Max,

 

What machine, material, and settings did you use? The canopy frames look terrific!

 

Gene K

 

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