Tuesday, November 13, 2018

What To Know About Foam Cutting Wires

By Carol Smith


A hot wire foam cutter is a special piece of equipment that is used for foam cutting. One example of materials this machine can be utilized to cut is polystyrene foam. It has various components which include a taut metal wire which is thin and is heated via electrical resistance for it to cut through materials. Depending on the make of the machine, the temperature of foam cutting wires normally reaches 200 degrees Celsius or more.

Various materials can be used to make the wire although it is made from nichrome or stainless steel in most cases. This wire can be pre-formed to any shape a person wishes to produce. The wire is normally very hot that there is no need to touch the material for it to be cut. The material gets vaporized before it is even touched by the wire.

Tensioning of the wire can be done using a bow or a frame that has springs. Many people tend to favor a single strand of stainless steel wire over nichrome wire if diameters range from 0.008 inches to 0.020 inches. This diameter is suitable for frame-tensioned cutters. Commercially, a nickel-based alloy wire Rene 41 is often preferred. This nickel-based alloy is preferred because is maintains its tensile strength at cutting temperatures.

This machine is appropriate for cutting several different materials. It is specifically appropriate for cutting through any thermofusible expanded foam. These refer to materials that normally melt at moderately low temperatures. Custom materials, flexible expanded polypropylene foams, polymathacrylimide, extruded polystyrene, and expanded polystyrene blocks are some of the materials that this machine can cut.

There exist various models of these cutters used today. They include, simple manual cutting tables, performed wires, template-guided manual tables, computer numerically controlled cutters, and push through slicers among others. Pre-formed wires are used by attaching them to handles. When in use, the operator needs to guide the wire manually to produced desired shapes. Handheld cutters operate similarly where they are guided by the operator manually so that it cuts freehand shapes.

Hot wire foam cutting tables usually have a horizontal table that is used to secure the foam work piece in place. The wire, which may be horizontal or vertical then cuts through the work piece secured on the table. Hobbyists usually use vertical wires to cut small, but complex shapes like letters. Vertical tables can be utilized to cut prismatic members only.

Horizontal tables are used mostly in packaging and construction industries. The table has tracks on each side for holding the wire. The tracks allow the movement of the wire to happen with a lot of precision. The tracks enable downward and upward motion. Horizontal tables can also produce angular cuts.

CNC capabilities have also been incorporated into foam cutting these days. This allows for even more accuracy and ability to cut extremely intricate shapes. However, accuracy of CNC machines can be affected by factors such as backlash of drive systems, stepper motors, and stiffness of races used to support end effectors. Tensioned wires are usually held by end effectors




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