How to make a styrofoam cutting table. Foam cutting machines: principle of operation, types, prices

Polyfoam is a good heat insulator, characterized by durability and low weight. It is used to create a variety of shapes, blanks and models, as an excellent insulation. It is quite easy to work with him. But often such material is produced in the form of blocks with large geometric parameters. Cutting them with a saw or knife is very inconvenient. Products crumble, which violates their structure.

Opening problem thermal insulation material solves the foam cutter, often called a cutter. You can buy it at a hardware store or make it yourself. In the second case, the home master gets at his disposal a tool that suits him in all respects.

Elementary carver - half an hour and ready!

The simplest tool for cutting foam sheets (expanded polystyrene) is made without the slightest difficulty with the help of 4-5 batteries for a flashlight and an ordinary guitar string. The process of creating a cutter will be as follows:

batteries are sequentially connected to each other in one block;
a guitar string is fixed to the ends of the resulting module.

As a result of these actions, a tool with an electric closed arc is obtained. The current passing through it will heat up the string. At the site of its contact with the material being cut, the process of melting and cutting the expanded polystyrene sheet into two parts will be observed.

For the operation of the described home-made thermal knife, the string must be heated to 130-150 ° C. With the help of such a simple tool, you can cut 1-3 blocks of foam. It is not advisable to use it for cutting a large number of sheets due to the fact that the batteries will sit down very quickly.

Varieties of electric thermal knives and their features

If the master uses foam regularly and performs large amounts of work, it is advisable for him to make a tool with his own hands that functions from a household electrical network. Such homemade thermal knives that do not require separate chargers are used for:

linear cutting;
curly cut.

They use a nichrome thread or a metal plate as a working thermoelement. A mandatory block of such devices is a voltage-lowering transformer (Figure 1). Its windings must meet the following requirements:

cable section - from 1.5 mm;
voltage - from 100 V (primary winding), 15 V (secondary).

Experts recommend connecting a step-down device to an autotransformer (LATR), which allows you to smoothly adjust the output voltage. If there is no desire to purchase such an expensive device, you can do otherwise:

put the switch on the taps of the secondary winding;
equip the step-down transformer with a rheostat.

Linear cutting device - how to do it?

A homemade thermal knife for cutting flat sheets of expanded polystyrene foam is a simple design. Any craftsman will understand the principle of its creation.

The basis of the structure is a frame made of steel profile or wooden bars. In its lower part, a working surface is mounted from particle boards, plywood of great thickness. Some masters use textolite sheets for its construction.

The function of the work surface can also be performed by an ordinary table or workbench. Then the need for a frame is eliminated. And the construction process itself is as follows:

On the table (another flat surface), two vertical supports are mounted, which are fixed with insulators.
A transformer is connected to the latter through electrical contacts to lower the voltage.
A nichrome wire is stretched between the insulators. A special weight is suspended from it. It is needed to tension the thread.

Such a foam cutter functions simply. Electric current passes through the thread, heats it up, which leads to stretching of the wire. The load does not allow the latter to sag.

A heated nichrome thread easily cuts a foam block horizontally, which is moved by hand. This results in flat sheets insulating material. Their thickness is determined by the distance separating the stretched wire from the working surface of the table.

When performing the described operation, it is important to ensure that the expanded polystyrene is supplied at the most uniform speed.

In cases where the material must be cut vertically, the design of the cutter is slightly modified. The frame needs to be additionally equipped with a paw-holder. hang to him nichrome thread and a weight, passing the latter through a hole previously drilled in the table. It is desirable to install a hollow metal pipe in it, which will protect the master from burns when the wire is heated.

Rules for the manufacture of tools for figured cutting

If cutting at home will be subjected to foam sheets of large thickness or geometric dimensions that do not fit on the work surface due to their parameters, it is recommended to make a thermal knife from a hacksaw or a manual jigsaw. The work is done like this:

The cutting blade of the jigsaw (hacksaw) is removed.
An electrical cable is connected to the tool handle.
Nichrome wire is bent at a given angle.
The figuratively bent thread is installed in the place where the canvas was previously placed, and fixed with nuts and screws.

Everything metal elements isolated on a self-made structure. If desired, you can immediately bend several nichrome canvases at different angles. Then curly cutting will be more comfortable.

Styrofoam cutting is carried out in order to obtain elements of various expressive large-scale inscriptions, for the manufacture of relief images on billboards and facade parts of artistically designed buildings. Also, cutting of foam sheet material is used to obtain building materials of a given size.

To select the right equipment for cutting foam, you need to clearly set yourself the task: what specific material will be cut, into what types of individual products and what are the prospects for this business in the future? Having determined the direction of activity, you can proceed to the selection of suitable equipment. And the choice here is very large - from simple machines for figured cutting of foam plastic to machines for 3D cutting of foam plastic.

foam cutting technology

Styrofoam cutting technologies are very different depending on the goals and objectives set for the master. Other products are well cut with an ordinary sharp knife or a hacksaw-type machine, others - only with the help of jigsaws, both manual and mechanical. Often, specialists in cutting letters from a foam sheet use a wire heated to a high temperature.

A new step in foam cutting technology is the use of various low and high cost machine tools. These machines use completely different ways cutting. In the simpler thermal method using a heated cutting element. In others - mechanical type cutting with the help of cutters of various configurations.

More complex and expensive types of equipment for processing foam plastic are laser machines that make it possible to manufacture products of high geometric requirements from foam raw materials. As a rule, machines for figured and laser cutting are equipped with CNC units that allow the operator to quickly form a software algorithm for the operation of the machine, and further operation of the equipment already takes place without human intervention.

Each type of equipment for dividing foam into parts is in its own price segment, and the higher the quality of the products obtained and the easier process task formation, the higher the price of equipment.

Foam cutting equipment

We will consider equipment as its cost increases and as functionality machine tools. Given that there are a lot of offers on the market for such equipment, both from domestic manufacturers and from foreign ones, the price of machines with similar capabilities can vary greatly depending on the country of manufacture.

Recently, many consumers begin to review the equipment they need from Chinese models. And, as sad as it sounds, they end it. After all, modern China is a highly industrialized country, which is the main manufacturer of equipment for almost the entire planet. In addition, the price-quality ratio of Chinese equipment is very high, which makes it highly competitive, highly functional and reliable.

Manual cutting of foam

For manual cutting of foam at home, it would be nice to figure out how to make a foam cutting machine with your own hands. To cut the foam yourself, you need a heated metal rod or wire. After all, when cold cutting, this material crumbles and bursts. Even the sharpest cutting tools do not solve the problem. Of course, there are also knives with notches, you can lubricate the blade of this knife with machine oil to reduce noise, and remove the chips formed during cutting with a vacuum cleaner. But without physical effort, it is impossible to cut this magnificent insulation with a knife.

More progressive manually processing foam at home is the impact on this material with a heated string. The string is pulled over the clamps manual machine, similar to a hacksaw for metal, and voltage is supplied to it from a low-voltage current source. When current flows through the string, it quickly heats up, and further cutting of the foam will look more like its melting in the cut zone. For this method, almost no manual effort is required, except for the movement of the sheet of material as the string passes.

With an average sheet thickness of about 50 mm, the cutting speed of a homemade foam cutting machine is at least 1 meter in 10 seconds. With this method, it is imperative to ensure the outflow of harmful substances that are formed when the foam is heated. An ordinary household vacuum cleaner or a fan may be suitable for this.

But you can cut the material with a cold string. Indeed, during the re-return movement, it heats up, and the heated foam plastic is forced through it along the desired trajectory.

Figured cutting of foam

Let's consider the equipment for figured cutting of polyfoam. The machines of this group enable the operator to use modern technologies material processing and create in this way products of a very complex shape, and they do it so quickly and accurately that it is difficult to wish for the best. In addition, the cost of operating the machine is almost conditional. The main obstacle to the complication of the forms of manufactured products is the imagination of the person himself.

With the help of curly processing, three-dimensional models of individual letters and entire logos of firms and companies, advertising inscriptions and details of stores are created. Such methods are also used to make decorations of any level, for artistic modeling in architecture and construction.

If the machine for figured processing is equipped with a CNC, then it can produce any shape from extruded and foamed types of foam. Impeccable cutting accuracy and high technological speed of work make it possible to produce parts only "excellent".

The models of new types of cutting equipment include a 4-axis machine "Zodchy" with a working head of a milling type. In addition to cutting foam plastic, this machine can perform format cutting of both chipboard, chipboard, PVC, and polyurethane. It also gives good working qualities when processing fiberglass and acrylic.

Thanks to the SRP-4612 software, operations for cutting and cutting materials are simplified to a minimum. The cutting element has the possibility of large vertical movement. Programs for the operation of the machine can be entered from a laptop that is included with this equipment.

Working parameters of the machine:

cutting speed - up to 100 cm / s;
engine power - 5000 W;
power on the spindle - 2300 W;
supply network - 220 V 50 Hz.

With such high operating parameters, the apparatus is expensive. The price of the machine for cutting foam "Architect" is currently equal to 1 million 300 thousand rubles.

The FRP foam cutting machine also has a complex design, which has already been discontinued since 2017 due to the presence of more functional types equipment. But the manufacturer can also supply this device upon the customer's request.

Equipment of this class has two separate portals, each of which can work synchronously and asynchronously with the other. This allows you to double the productivity of the equipment and simultaneously cut, for example, the right and left wings of an aircraft model. The CNC software module of the machine has high functionality, and for turning or milling cutting of materials, it is enough to buy only additional equipment for the machine.

The FRP-01 model has a very well thought out cutting waste disposal system, and its design allows you to fold the working equipment after work, due to which the size of the machine is almost halved.

The workpiece is fixed in the FRP machine with the help of rotary disks without additional devices. The device is available for both manual and mechanical operation. The workpiece rotation speed is controlled by a gear motor, and the software module does not require connection to a separate computer.

The cost of the FRP machine is currently from 110,000 rubles.

Interesting and modern model equipment - a machine for cutting SRP foam. The SRP-3222 model, in comparison with the earlier models of this manufacturer, has an enlarged work table for the manufacture of molded products in the form of various heaters for heating pipes, skirting boards and finishing parts for building facades. On such equipment it is possible to produce products of large size.

All models of this machine series allow you to install 6 strings at once for cutting foam plastic and simultaneously produce 6 parts of the same type at the same time. Since the length of one string is more than two meters, it is immediately possible to produce products for 12 linear meters. The SRP-322 model takes into account all best qualities previous versions of the PSA machine. Up to four foam blocks can be installed on it at the same time and cut them simultaneously into the required products.

At the request of the customer, the machines of this series are equipped with a rotary table, which has a diameter of 76 cm. This allows you to program three-dimensional cutting of various shapes from foam on the machine. The workpiece is securely fastened to turntable and rotated according to the program specified by the CNC. And a modern CNC foam cutting machine allows you to cut shapes in the 3D format that is widely demanded in our time.

For the production of products of such a complex shape, the stability of the table rotation plays a very important role, which in the SRP machine is provided by a gear reducer with high accuracy of the specified rotation angles.

You can now buy a foam plastic cutting machine of the SRP model for 187,000 rubles. Offers for the sale of this foam cutting equipment and other models abound on Internet sites.

Machines from Proxxon

Thermocut Proxxon machines are highly recommended among manufacturers. This is Proxxon's polystyrene and foam cutting machine. The devices are very practical in operation, suitable for both horizontal cutting of material and for cutting it at a given angle.

In addition to cutting foam, this machine is also suitable for cutting other thermoplastic materials. When powered by a 220 V household electrical network, the machine has class 2 electrical insulation. The weight of the machine is only 3 kg.

At a price of 8,000 rubles, this equipment fully justifies itself in the first months of operation.

Polystyrene laser cutting equipment

More modern and technologically advanced equipment of this class is a foam plastic laser cutting machine. Such laser cutters and engravers are used for the manufacture of small-sized products from sheet non-metallic materials.

Such machines can be used to produce various products of an artistic type in the form of 3D souvenirs or furniture elements, room decoration. They can be applied to the surface of products with various inscriptions and openwork engravings. Such equipment is also widely used in the advertising industry. Since 2009, Russia has mainly received CNC foam laser cutting machines from China.

To order machine equipment of this class, you need to go to the seller's website, find out how much the device costs, and start negotiations with the manager of the trading company. The specialist will give extensive advice on the functionality, purpose of certain machines and provide a price list for any equipment.

If a person does not have such amounts to start a business, which are indicated opposite CNC laser cutting machines, you can look for offers of used foam cutting machines. There are also enough such options on the websites of equipment sellers. You just need to choose suitable option equipment, agree on the conditions of the initial stage of operation and the warranty period.

Prices for such equipment are sometimes an order of magnitude lower than for new ones, and its working qualities generally remain at the same level as at the time of the first sale.

Styrofoam (extruded polystyrene foam) is used as thermal insulation for external and interior decoration, used for packaging goods or manufacturing prefabricated structures. The material is produced in the form of sheets, which are cut on the spot and adjusted to the dimensions of the surfaces. For quick cutting of foam, you will need a special device that allows you to make a straight or curly cut.

Manual processing of foam plastic is possible at home and in small workshops using a simple device assembled from improvised materials. Extruded polystyrene foam has a fairly dense structure, so you can cut the plates with a metal tool heated to a certain temperature. As a cutting surface, a wire that supplies electric current is suitable, with the supply of which the main difficulty in assembly is associated.

A self-made machine allows you to get tiles or bars of suitable thickness from ordinary foam for packaging with their further use in various structures. With such a device, you can also cut foam rubber or similar materials that are needed for the manufacture or repair upholstered furniture. The compact dimensions of the device for cutting polystyrene with your own hands using nichrome allow you to install the machine in a small workshop or even on a balcony.

To cut foam at home, you will need a structure that can be assembled from simple materials available at any hardware store. First you need to determine the parameters of each element, taking into account the dimensions of the foam plates that will have to be processed . In most cases, the following details will suffice:

The basis from dense plywood, a chipboard or the massif. You can order new parts or use items old furniture(doors, walls, shelves). A base of 400 x 600 mm is sufficient for working with foam.
A string or wire in the form of a thermal knife for polystyrene.
Metal posts, screws, springs or ordinary nails to fix the wire. The installation height of the cutter depends on the expected thickness of the finished boards.
Fixings for parts on the base. A few self-tapping screws are enough to fix the structural elements.

To assemble a thermal cutter, it will take up to one hour of working time. Each of the structural elements can be quickly replaced in the process of repair or expansion of the fixture.

Action algorithm

To make a device for cutting foam or similar materials, you need the most common tools (hammer, screwdriver, pliers). You can work anywhere with enough space (balcony, room, hallway, garage, etc.). No involvement of assistants or third-party specialists is required.

Assembly is carried out in the following order:

Legs can be attached to the base, which will increase stability when cutting foam with a string.

How to choose cutting wire

A suitable cutter can be made from nichrome wire (X20H80), which is used in the design of most household appliances as heating element. In terms of mechanical characteristics, nichrome is comparable to ordinary steel, while it has a high resistivity and a heating limit up to temperatures of +1200 ºC. Wire diameters up to 10 mm are available for the manufacture of cutting fixtures.

Precise and smooth foam carving is possible when the cutting line is heated to a temperature that is two to three times the melting threshold (+270 ºC). It should be borne in mind that such a process involves the consumption of energy and the absorption of heat by the material itself in proportion to its density. Therefore, for efficient and safe cutting, it is necessary to select a wire of suitable thickness in order to prevent metal melting at maximum heating.

Calculation and preparation of the electrical part

For the safe operation of the device, it is necessary to correctly mount the conductive elements that are connected to the power source through the captive terminals. To cut the material, you can use alternating or direct current. The power of the source is calculated based on the fact that up to 2.5 W will be needed for effective cutting of 10 mm wire (for 500 mm - 125 V).

The voltage is proportional to the resistance and is calculated using formulas or tables. But on average, with a wire diameter of 0.8 mm, a length of 500 mm and a resistance of 2.2 ohms, you will need a 12 V current source with a load current of 12 A. Changing the length up or down will require a similar increase or decrease in voltage at the same strength current.

Power sources and connection diagram

Safe cutting is ensured by connecting to a regular 220 V household network through a car transformer. To adjust the voltage in a single primary winding, a handle is provided, with which the graphite wheel is moved and the voltage is removed from the corresponding area. This parameter can be changed within the range from 0 to 240 V. Connection to the current source is carried out through the terminal box.

When connecting a homemade foam cutting machine to the mains, you need to make sure that the phase does not fall on a common wire. All the necessary parameters and connection diagram can be found on the transformer housing. Before connecting to the network, you need to check the operation of the device using a multimeter.

A simpler option for supplying current to the wire is to use conventional step-down transformers with taps from the secondary windings. In this case you don't have to adjust the voltage, since this value is always constant and sufficient to heat the wire to the desired temperature. You can select the desired value during the initial setup of the transformer, providing a certain number of turns of windings in the circuit.

You can also heat the wire for cutting polystyrene using household appliances. In this case, the following nuances are taken into account:

It must be taken into account that cutting tool energized will immediately be hot, so it should not be touched to check the temperature.

To make a thermal knife for polystyrene or foam rubber, it will not take a significant investment of time and effort. For this, a wire of almost any diameter is suitable, but with unknown parameters (diameter, resistance), you need to increase the power gradually, connecting first low-power current sources. Great importance has reliable isolation of contacts and phase position control, which cannot be connected to the wire.

Styrofoam is a versatile material. It is used in construction (insulation), in the production (repair) of household electrical appliances, interior design, advertising. One of the main characteristics of the material is density. The higher this value, the stronger the material. However, this greatly affects the price.

When using the material as a filler for wall insulation, the loosest structure is usually chosen (due to low cost). However, loose foam is difficult to process - when cutting, it crumbles a lot, making it difficult to clean up debris.

A foam cutting knife should be thin and sharp, but this does not prevent the edge from breaking. Even if you work outdoors, flying small balls litter the environment.

Therefore, professional builders cut the foam with nichrome wire or a hot plate. The material is fusible, despite the fire safety.

Important! When choosing a heater, pay attention to the characteristics. It should say "self-extinguishing". Such foam is perfectly cut with the help of temperature, but in case of fire it will not become a source of combustion..

An industrial foam cutting machine can process sheets of any size, cut material both across and along the array.

However, cutting foam at home does not involve such volumes and sizes. For repair work in your home (or garage), a compact thermal knife is quite enough. It can easily cope with both linear cutting and curly adjustment of plates, when laying in areas with complex shape.

Any tool has a cost, and there is always an opportunity to save money on a purchase.

Do-it-yourself foam cutting tools

For linear cutting, the guillotine is excellent. Only the impact will not be mechanical, otherwise a lot of garbage will be formed. We use a proven technology - cutting foam plastic with a tension heated string.

Required Materials

Nichrome (tungsten) thread
Power supply, preferably adjustable
Any structural materials: timber, metallic profile, pipe, for the manufacture of a tension frame
Furniture guides for drawers.

On a table, workbench, or other flat surface, we install vertical racks for attaching the guillotine. With the help of furniture guides, we fix the frame of the cutter so that it moves without distortions. Both sides must move synchronously.

The most critical part of the cutter is the wire mechanism. The first question is where to get the material. Nichrome can be purchased at stores selling radio components. But since we are striving for a shareware design, we will look for an alternative.

Old soldering iron. Models made in the USSR, designed for 36-40 volts, can be found in any home workshop. The heater winding is an excellent donor for a nichrome guillotine. True, the length of the wire is not more than a meter.
Iron with classic spiral heater. The wire is thicker, suitable for linear cutting. Curly cutting is acceptable, with low requirements for accuracy.
Spiral heaters from a hair dryer, or a fan heater. The principle is the same, they are not suitable for precise cutting.

note

Tip: When straightening the spiral, do not pull the wire along the spring. Loops may appear and the thread will break. It is better to unwind the turns as from a spool of thread. You can put a spiral on a nail or pencil, and pull the wire across the turns.

The principle of operation of the frame is shown in the diagram.

The wire cutter must be electrically isolated from the frame. Therefore, it can be made of metal. It is important to keep the tension on the wire constant. When heated, nichrome expands, adding up to 3% in length. This causes the string to sag.

The foam cutting machine allows you to make products of various shapes from polymers. The latest developments are controlled by the operator through a computer, and homemade machines easy to make, but no less effective.

Types of machines and principle of operation

In specialized stores you can find a foam cutting machine of the following type:

mobile (looks like a knife);
for horizontal and transverse cutting;
with numerical control.

The work of many models of machine tools is based on a single mechanism. The cutting surface is heated and separates the styrofoam according to the drawing, as hot knife cuts butter. Often a fishing line is used as a cutting surface. The simplest home-made machines operate with a single string. High-precision CNC models cut six lines at the same time.

The incision is clean, no further processing is required.

The device of machines for curly cutting of foam plastic

With your own hands on the machine, you can cut a sheet of foam in two ways: vertically and horizontally. For vertical cutting, the fishing line is placed perpendicular to the working surface. To make an even cut, drawings and templates are used. As a cutter, the optimal material is nichrome thread.

When choosing a machine, the length of the workpieces is important. For example, there are models for cutting polystyrene foam with fishing lines longer than 2 m. In one cycle, such a machine produces 12 meters of running products according to the drawings.

For cutting out more complex elements from expanded polystyrene, for example, toys, design objects, special models of machines for figured cutting have been developed. Expanded polystyrene is processed in several projections. From simple material you can make a model of an airplane, a figurine of a person or an animal, complex patterns.

Possibilities of machines for cutting polystyrene foam

Curly cutting machines can be used in a wide variety of industries from construction to the advertising business. During cutting, no waste is generated, melted surfaces receive additional strength. The thickness of the material is limited only by the length of the thread.

According to the drawings with great accuracy, you can do it yourself:

figures according to any drawings from expanded polystyrene;
molds for the foundry industry;
molds for pouring concrete solutions;
stands for exhibitions and presentations;
logos, letters for outdoor advertising;
cornices, rosettes, arches and moldings for decorating interiors;
parts for packages;
foam molding.

The following materials lend themselves to curly cutting: foam rubber, polystyrene foam, any polymers that can be processed with heated fishing line.

The thermal method of creating figured parts from foam plastic has only one drawback: during heating, harmful substances are released from the polymer. That's why workplace must be equipped with a good hood!

Homemade machine for curly processing

Do-it-yourself drawings are not needed for making a machine, it is such a simple device. On such a machine, you can make small parts for fishing or household.

We select suitable table, covered with an electrical and thermal insulator (for example, polyamide film).
In the centers of the long sides of the table we fasten one glass or ceramic insulator. Then a filament will be stretched between the insulators.
We select a suitable fishing line. You can use nichrome thread from an old iron, soldering iron or electric stove. The spiral should be straightened into a straight thread. The thickness of the fishing line should not exceed 0.5 mm.
So that the thread does not burn out, we connect it to the network through a step-down transformer or a rheostat.
A fishing line is connected to the coil on the insulator with your own hands, a mounting electrical cable is connected to it, which will go further into the network. Ensure maximum contact between the fishing line and the cable.
Under the table, the fishing line is pulled to the second insulator, passed through it. The end of the fishing line hangs freely from the insulator, a weight is screwed to it. The weight of the weight regulates the tension of the heated fishing line during operation, it must be selected by trial method. Thus, we make a sliding mount that provides the best cleanliness of the cut.
Near the second insulating coil, another electric cable is attached to the fishing line, directed to the rheostat (slider terminal).

A home-made machine starts only after setting the rheostat slider to the maximum resistance value. Otherwise, the thread will instantly burn out!

The performance of a do-it-yourself machine will depend on the heating temperature of the fishing line, that is, its thickness and current voltage. Not recommended to apply high voltage to speed up the process. Because the thread will burn out faster. It is necessary to monitor the condition of the thread, it should heat up to a bright red color, but not white. White color indicates overheating. That is, the voltage must be reduced and made acceptable for work.

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