Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: Glass cutting

On Oct 22, 2006, at 6:38 PM, Jack Coats wrote:

I know it is not the same thing, but has anyone tried 'milling' glass,
to 'mechanical etching'?



It is done all the time and has been done longer than what you
might call "machining.". but it is called "grinding " see
lapidary. it does need to be cooled . Heating the glass will
make things worse.

The cnc glass cutting technique is done on VERY thin stock -- it
won't extrapolate to even normal thin window glass. it isn't
hard to orient the cutter wheel but you need more than just a
scratch to break thru. Search glass breaking pliers and also
glass cutting. The burglar technique isn't how it is really works .

Silicon chips from wafers are sawed not cut by breaking although
the machine described cuts glass near wafer thickness. There is
an interesting technique shown where the carbide wheel axle hole is
cut with a spline or like an internal planetary gear to put enough
vibration in to run the break.

Glass is cut from a 10' wide flowing ribbon going about 50 feet
per minute out of the annealing lehr in a float glass plant which is
how almost all flat window type glass is made today. Very slick.
Computer control adjusts the cutter angle to match the speed for
square cross cuts. the computer also adjusts the cut sizes for no
generated waste cutting multiple sizes efficiently on the fly.
Art glass is a much more manual operation.

Glass is cut into fancy shapes with a wet diamond bandsaw. There
are Diamond wire saws . The wire "blade" is usually a long strand
fed from a reel to another reel which reverses.

The idea to use a simple cnc router table as described does not
appear functionally practical .

jesse

















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