Re: router for sheet metal

However, there are always ways of surmounting these problems, depending
upon quite what you have in mind, and how much time you have to do it.

I have successfully milled out shapes in sheet brass to make clock parts; a
good and perfectly practical method is to attach the sheet to a sacrificial
plate of some kind with a suitable adhesive - for example, double sided
tape on a block of MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard - that stuff that is
supposed to generate carcinogens when you machine it). The only thing you
have to watch is that the heat generated during cutting can weaken the
adhesive if you cut too fast; however, the strategic use of a few screws
through the scrap areas of the sheet can alleviate this problem.

See:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO/files/Tony%27s%20files/Clock2.jpg

All of the brass sheet components of this movement (front and back plates,
dial, wheels, & one or two others) were machined using the technique
described above, using a Taig CNC mill and a 1/16" diameter end mill.

Regards,
Tony

At 09:39 17/10/2002 +0000, you wrote:

>Alex,
>While it is 'possible', it is kind of impractical. First,
>you must have some kind of bed that you can 'carve' into.
>Also, you must be able to get rid of the 'drops' (i.e. from
>letters like a,b,d,e,g,o,p,q,r and numbers 4,6,8,9,0, etc -
>sounds like the sponsors of Sesame Street, huh?). Then, you
>must also have some means of holding the stock down,
>because you'll be seeing considerable 'lifting force'
>g.enerated by the (hopefully) spiral flutes of the cutter.
>Hey, go ahead and do it if it makes you feel good. But,
>invest in a good pair of Safety Glasses!
>
>RayHex
>
>----------
> > From: al5502 <telecomt@...>
> >
> > Hi, folks!
> > I'm new to your group.
> > What I want to ask, is, if somebody used routers for
>cutting
> > the sheet metal. Is it possible to route shapes, holes
> > (round or not), similar to what laser cutters can do?
> > With your knowlege making X-Y table is not a problem.
> > Is there a sutable routing head to do the job?
> > Regards, Alex

Regards,
Tony