Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Metal router?

Abby Katt wrote:

>I'm trying to zealotishly convert a friend of mine to CNC - at the moment
>her small business if paying a fortune to have stuff cut at the factory, who
>tend to treat her small-demand jobs as really low priority.
>
>
>Deciding "Hey! I can do this! I can help you!" I may be looking to build
>something similar to a high-speed router for her.. But there is one little
>problem: it's for thin sheet metal (~0.5mm), not wood.
>
>

The big problem is workpiece support. One way might be to cut "stencils"
first out of sheet brass, sheet aluminum, etc. The lower sheet just has
gruuves to
clear the cutter, the upper plate is cut through. The bottom is like
the "spoil board"
on a router. The top sheet holds the thin material in place. This is
assuming there
are no isolated cut-outs in the work. Once the material is being held,
top and
bottom, right up near where the cut is to be made, a tiny carbide bit in
a good
router should be able to do the job just fine.

>But what can you use to reliably cut thin sheet metal at a high rate
>CNCwise?
>Pneumatic die grinder? A wood router with lots of cooling and TCT bits?
>
>It needs to be a big machine, to take the stainless steel/ali sheets (4x3ft)
>direct as they come from the factory. I was wondering if anyone has any pics
>up of a machine of theirs that does this sort of thing already? All the
>routers I've ever seen are wood-eaters only...
>
>

Any wood router that handles hardwoods and 1/4" router bits should be able
to do this in aluminum. The stainless is a bit tougher on the cutters,
but a variable
speed router should handle it.

Jon