Cutting paper - Cunning Trick

[Joe Pelonio]

My wife works at a school and asked if I could cut up some colored paper shapes for use in art projects. The construction paper is thinner than it used to be, so it flies about, going up my exhaust and getting in the way of the next cut - a mess.

I had 3 options.
Buy a new laser with vacuum table (for an unpaid job?)
Build a vacuum system for this laser
Find a way to do it better - and that's what made me think of this.

I took a scrap of 1/4" acrylic, and cut the shapes out as well as a rectangle around it 1/2" larger than the paper size.

I removed the rectangle, place in 4 sheets of paper, put the "cover" back on. Then I did an inside contour of .05" on all the shapes and use that as my cut file to allow for any slight variation in placement of the cover. Then I refocused to the paper.

Works great, the paper pieces are 1/4" deep and seem to be staying down there the whole time. I might be able to run more than 4 sheets at a time
but it will take more power/speed adjustment.

[Dee Gallo]

Good idea, Joe! I wonder if this would work with fabric as well. I know it would work with veneer, which needs something to hold it flat.

I'm going to use this idea for some 100 denim patches which I have planned for sometime this winter for a family reunion next summer.

Thanks! dee

[James Jaragosky]

Joe, Glad to see that you are still using the old noodle for all it's worth. very cleaver,thanks for sharing.

Wow Dee, 100 relatives! I don't think my family could pull that many together if we included all our friends.

[Joe Pelonio]

Originally Posted by James Jaragosky

Joe, Glad to see that you are still using the old noodle for all it's worth. very cleaver,thanks for sharing.

Wow Dee, 100 relatives! I don't think my family could pull that many together if we included all our friends.

We're having 50 next weekend for my Mom's 80th BD party and though that was a lot of relatives.

Yes, Dee, it should work with denim. Really light fabric might still get caught by the rushing air since it's lighter than paper.

[Steve Clarkson]

Joe, that is a good idea......you could even take it one more step.......when you first cut the acrylic.......cut it a SECOND time, but do an inside contour of say....0.1"......so when you remove the acrylic shape......say a star.....there will actually be two pieces......use the inside star piece as a weight over the paper.

Is that clear as mud?

[Joe Pelonio]

I do understand what you mean and it's great suggestion but not really needed. I ran about 20 sets of 3-4 sheets and none flew out. That is something to consider for thinner paper or fabric.

[Martin Boekers]

Joe, you resolved an issue I have been working with for awhile.

I've been playing with designing pop-up cards in my spare time (that's time when actually I should be sleeping!). Now I can hold the paper firmly in place!

For those interested in a pop-up card designer software here is an interesting place it can be found.



http://www.tamasoft.co.jp/craft/popupcard_en/

Pretty slick!


Marty

[Dave Johnson29]

Originally Posted by Martin Boekers

For those interested in a pop-up card designer software here is an interesting place it can be found.

Hi Marty,

Thanks for that, it IS pretty slick and 18-bucks to register it. Damn I would have donated $20 even if it had been free.

[Dee Gallo]

Originally Posted by James Jaragosky

Wow Dee, 100 relatives! I don't think my family could pull that many together if we included all our friends.

Yes, 100, rounding it off... but hey, that's what happens when everyone has 2,3 or 4 marriages and a couple three kids with each one. We blame it on the old Chinese customs and my great grandfather who started this trend. Of course, now they don't all live in the same house all together. hahaha.

[John Noell]

Originally Posted by Joe Pelonio

I had 3 options.
Buy a new laser with vacuum table (for an unpaid job?)
Build a vacuum system for this laser
Find a way to do it better - and that's what made me think of this.

As I discovered early on, the vacuum table is great for the bottom layer but does NOTHING for anything on top of that layer. My super-spiffy exhaust system instantly pointed this out the very first time I cut multiple layers of paper. I went outside the shop and found that some were only slightly mangled. The rest completely lost the battle with the fan blades.

[Scott Challoner]

I have to do the same thing for my wife once in awhile. She's a scrapbooker. I turn the ppi way down and perforate the shapes. That way, I can remove the whole sheet rather than handle the scrap and the cut shapes. Then I give them to her in a stack and they pop out very easily. I like the idea of being able to do more than one sheet at a time though.

[Ray Uebner]

Great idea thanks for the tip. I have not had to do it yet but will come in handy when I do.

[George Brown]

You can also leave little bridges (2 on each letter is sufficient) on the letters. They will stay in place and can be easily cut with an exacto knife to remove, take very little time.

[Doug Griffith]

Originally Posted by George Brown

You can also leave little bridges (2 on each letter is sufficient) on the letters. They will stay in place and can be easily cut with an exacto knife to remove, take very little time.

Using bridges also helps with loading/unloading of the machine. Otherwise, for the same reason Scott perforates, you have to pull out all the pieces one by one.

[Richard Rumancik]

I use a similar method to cut holes in .002" thick polyurethane for an industrial customer. (They got tired of cutting hundreds of holes with a scalpel.)

When I did my first test cut on a 12" x 12" sheet (several years ago), I carefully laid the sample sheet on the grid table and focused. Then I closed the lid - and instantly my 12" x 12" sample sheet disappeared up the exhaust vent. So it was obvious I needed a hold down of sorts . . .

In my case, the cutouts are the waste, not the part. I cut all the holes with the fixture in place over the ployurethane; then I use a vacuum to suck up all the bits out of the pockets before I remove the fixture.