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95 x 95 x 6mm MDF parts

10/7/19       
Jack  Member

Hi all,

I've had a job come in which needs 1000+ small parts machining.

They are 95 x 95 x 6mm (3" 3/4" x 3" 3/4" x 1/4") MDF squares with a 5mm round at each corner. Without the rounds we would just cut these on the panel saw.

Has anyone got any advice for holding such small parts on a flat bed nesting router?

10/7/19       #2: 95 x 95 x 6mm MDF parts ...
jerry Member

I would try something like 3M 77 spray on a sheet of 6 mm mdf as a spoil board then use a down cut end mill

10/7/19       #3: 95 x 95 x 6mm MDF parts ...
Mark B Member

We cut a lot of small mdf and it's tough because the thin mdf just leaks back like a sieve.

When we have tiny hard to hold parts we just run tabs

10/7/19       #4: 95 x 95 x 6mm MDF parts ...
Dropout Member

Cut them on a saw, stack them up and round the corners with a table router.

If you tab them you're going to the table router anyway.

Can't afford to do this on a CNC.

10/7/19       #5: 95 x 95 x 6mm MDF parts ...
Puzzleman Member

We cut many parts smaller than the size that doing. We apply 2 lengths of 24" wide tape to the back of the board. Vacuum that to the table and cut just to the tape. Vacuum doesn't bleed through the tape and keeps that pieces from moving.

We get the tape from a sign supply company. It is used to put up vinyl letters on a widow or wall. It comes in a few different tacks, so pick the one best for you.

10/7/19       #6: 95 x 95 x 6mm MDF parts ...
Mark B Member

Depends on the parts and how you setup your tabs but more often than not they can just be snipped with a pair of flush cut edge banding pliers. Its a sucky additional step but its 1/4" MDF after all. Depending on the tab and the part it would seem tough to leave an adequate tab that would allow room for a bearing for trimming anyway.

The flush cut pliers always work fine.

10/8/19       #7: 95 x 95 x 6mm MDF parts ...
Gary R Balcom

My first thought if you have thousands to do is a dedicated spoilboard, with gasketing, so you can cut through in 1 pass. But lets be honest, this will be slow. Cycle time will be very slow because of all the hand unloading.

I'm more inclined to go with Dropout's approach. Stack cut on a beam saw, then push a bunch of them up against a fence, put a clamp on them, and run them through a router table as a 95 x 95 x 1' log. You'd be doing 40 pcs at once, and could probably do two corners before moving the clamp. If you wanted to get real fancy, and had a low router table fence, you could probably come up with a way to jig/clamp it once and get all 4 edges.

10/9/19       #8: 95 x 95 x 6mm MDF parts ...
Matt Meadows

I feel like these could be done on the CNC.

Would the client be utterly opposed to using 1-sided vinyl faced melamine? That would hold quite nicely and probably solve your main problem. The slight increase in material cost might be an issue.

Either way, I'd turn the dust collection down a little if your router is like ours.... it's our dust collection that sucks small parts up off the spoilboard. We open all the blast gates on that circuit to cut the dust collection CFM to probably half or less, and things go better.

Consider leaving a very small 2mm tab instead of an onion skin (ie, just don't cut the full perimeter, have the bit start/stop just shy of a full cut around).

A tab would be fairly easy to cut with wire side-cutters and a quick kiss on a disc sander to clean it up. If one tab doesn't keep it flat, do two tabs.

I would think using a smaller diameter down-cutter like a 1/4" or 5/16" would help, however I've never needed to cut 1000 small pieces like this so that may not be the best idea.

10/9/19       #9: 95 x 95 x 6mm MDF parts ...
Dropout Member

Matt, you're right, it could be done that way.

I don't think it's worth the time.

A saw is always faster than a CNC, especially in this instance where you stack several sheets when you cut.

Quote the CNC time, do it on a saw and manual router table and make a great margin.


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