Hello all,
I have these thick (1/2-1.00") plastic laminates that I am currently cutting with a band saw using the finest tooth blade I can get. I was curious if anybody has a better method. Typically the laminate are with polypropylene or PET. One of the main problems is the blade get too hot and melts the laminate edges along the way resulting in the blade stuck in the middle of the piece. Any suggestions would be welcome.
How much do you want to spend? If you've got a lot of money, you could buy a water jet cutter. But I'm guessing you're looking to be economical. Try putting sellotape over your line before cutting. It stops the blade jamming on melted plastic when cutting acrylic. It might work with your plastic too.
Best wishes,
Chris
Find a better source of info, than the one that suggested as fine a tooth as possible.
I'm surprised you get any cuts at all!
Coarse tooth, light feed rate. Speeds similar to wood, or a bit slower, but it need not be as slow as for cutting steel. A sharp wood blade would be really good.
A little lubricant goes a long ways, too. Try some soluble oil type coolant, if the work can handle the contact with it. It is not too miserable to clean off the saw, and it will keep the odd bit of plastic chips from welding to the blade.
Cheers Trevor Jones
Try a router or even a milling machine with a plastics specific cutter "Used to slot and trim low melting point plastics such as ABS, Styrene and PVC. For maximum life these cutters are Solid Carbide. Single flute for fast cutting."
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