Re: CNC HOT WIRE FOAM CUTTING

Message: 13
Date: Sun, 28 Oct 2001 04:16:18 -0000
From: "Tom Murray" <thomasm923@...>
Subject: Re: CNC HOT WIRE FOAM CUTTING

--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@y..., npalen@n... wrote:
> Hello all--wondering if anyone knows of a simple method of cutting
> foam parts with a stiff hot wire "chucked" in the spindle. I need
to
> cut a few small "doughnuts" out of foam rubber less than 1/2" thick.
> Thanks.
> Nelson

How about wrapping some tungsten wire around a ceramic tube? One of
the ends of the wire could be fed up the inside of the tube and out
of a hole at the top, to keep it isolated from the wrapped part.
Mcmaster-Carr sells 1/8" ceramic tubes.

-Tom Murray

[Yuck! If you want to burn rubber, do it out on the highway- it's safer.
Foam rubber, especially polyurethane, is toxic when burned. The only type
of foam you should cut with a hot wire is Expanded Poly Styrene (EPS), or
Styrofoam (bead foam). If you want to make "doughnuts from rubber, make
yourself a punch out of metal.]

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com