Polystyrene foam is used in many construction work. It has good thermal insulation. However, this is a rather fragile and crumbling material. Therefore, when cutting it, special equipment is used. Otherwise, the edges will be uneven, and the material itself will lose its thermal insulation qualities at the joints.
Special equipment is on sale. However foam cutter you can do it yourself. This will significantly save the family budget. How to create different variants tool for cutting foam plastic, it will be interesting for every master to know.
Tool type
Creating manual foam cutter, should be studied existing varieties this tool. There are mechanical and electric varieties. If the foam product is small in size and cutting accuracy is not so important, you can give preference to the first option of the tool.
However, in order to ensure a tight fit of the foam boards to each other, it is necessary to ensure high cutting accuracy. The edges should be smooth. In this case, it is possible to create an insulating layer High Quality. Its heat loss will be minimal. When cutting unevenly, large gaps form between the joints. Through them, heat from the room will escape to the outside.
Professional designers and builders use exclusively electrical equipment for cutting foam. It is quite possible to create such a tool at home.
Simple electric cutter
Considering how to make a foam cutter, you should study the design of the simplest equipment of this class, which runs on electricity. In this case, you will need to prepare a thin guitar string and several batteries (for example, from a flashlight).
The operating principle of this equipment is simple. The battery structure forms a single unit. A guitar string is connected to it. When electric current passes through the circuit, it will heat up. It is in this state that the string can easily cut a sheet of foam.
When using such a tool, the material will melt. The string heats up to 120 ºС and even more. In this case, it is quite possible to cut several large slabs of foam. If you need to do a large amount of work, this option will not work. The batteries will run out quickly. We will have to provide an option for connecting the system to a household network.
Types of electric cutters
Electric foam cutter can be used for various purposes. This will determine the type of design and overall performance characteristics of the equipment. There are three main types of homemade cutters.
The first category is used for linear cutting. The second group includes cutters that perform shaped cutting of material. Designers use them. This type is used less frequently for home repairs. There is also a tool with a metal working plate.
Such equipment must have a step-down transformer in its circuit. It must be rated for a minimum power of 100 watts. The secondary winding of the transformer must have a cross-section of at least 1.5 mm. It must withstand a voltage of 15 V. In this case, you can achieve high results work.
Features of work
Studying how to make your own handheld foam cutter, it is also necessary to consider the operating features of such equipment. As mentioned above, such an instrument has a string. It heats up and melts the surface of the foam.
This material reacts quite poorly to heat. Therefore, it is important to maintain the technology of the entire process. Cutting using a hot thread is done quickly. This allows you to achieve high quality cuts.
It's easy to check the string's heating level. To do this, a test is carried out on a test piece of polystyrene foam. If, when immersing the thread, long pieces of material remain on it, it has not yet warmed up enough. If there is no foam on the string at all, then the temperature is too high. In this case, you will have to cool the instrument a little. With proper heating, you can perform fast, accurate cutting.
Line cutting cutter
Linear DIY foam cutter will allow you to create blocks from the material of the required dimensions. This significantly speeds up the work of the master. If necessary, this tool can be used to cut circles, triangles or squares into the foam.
Two racks are installed vertically on the table surface. Two insulators are attached to them. There's tension between them nichrome thread. This alloy heats up quickly, providing sufficient temperature for cutting. A freely hanging load is passed through one of the racks. Contacts from the transformer are connected to the thread.
The current passing through will heat it up. It will be taut all the time thanks to the weight hanging from one side. This is necessary, since the string may sag when heated. If desired, the design can be modified by adding a spring instead of a load. However, the original version is easier to implement.
Line cutting process
Considering how to make a foam cutter with your own hands, you also need to understand how to work with them correctly. Cutting can be done vertically or horizontally. To do this, the thread is pulled in the appropriate position.
If the string is stretched horizontally, you can use it to make the same cuts. The foam is pulled evenly across the table. The thread will cut it evenly into the required pieces.
When cutting a structure vertically, a frame made of metal or plywood is added. A holder is installed on it. An insulator and a nichrome string are connected to it. On its other side a load is suspended. It will go through a hole drilled in the table. It must be large enough and covered with a special insulating material. Next, you can perform vertical cutting.
Shaped cutting
If you need to cut enough large sheets foam or create decorative elements, sculptures made from this material are used special type equipment. You can also make it yourself. It's manual foam cutter. It is made on the basis hand jigsaw or hacksaws. In them cutting element change to nichrome string.
If you need to create curly elements, you can make several tools various shapes. A wire is connected to the handle of the jigsaw. It must be carefully isolated. Otherwise, it will be unsafe to work with this equipment. A nichrome string is attached to the wire contacts. This can be done using nuts and screws with washers.
Also, a pulse soldering iron or wood burner may be suitable for creating such equipment. This tool is considered convenient. Their working element is removed from such equipment and replaced with a piece. In this case, the threads can be given different shapes.
Cutter with metal plate
Exists foam cutter, in the design of which it is used To create this equipment, you can remake a soldering iron. Equipment with a power of 60 W is suitable. Removed from the device a heating element. Instead, a plate is installed here.
One side of the copper blank needs to be sharpened. This will allow you to create a more accurate cut. The sharpening angle should not be made too large. The cutting will be done using heat. To find the required level, you will have to experiment on a test piece of foam.
This method is also used by craftsmen various levels qualifications and profile. If necessary, the copper plate can be replaced with a steel billet. This option will require more effort when sharpening. But with the help of such a tool you can cut denser polymer materials.
Choosing which one foam cutter more suitable for the work of a master, you should take into account the recommendations professional builders. The greater the volume of work performed, the more complex the design will be. A simple battery-powered cutter is quite suitable for cutting several blocks. However, to perform a large amount of work, preference should be given to network types of equipment.
When cutting, the foam heats up. At this moment, they stand out from it into environment substances unsafe for human health. Therefore, the work is performed in a well-ventilated room or outside.
In order not to make a mistake with the cutting configuration, you should mark all the lines with a pencil before starting the action. This will avoid mistakes when cutting. These simple recommendations will allow you to do the job quickly, correctly and safely.
Having considered what options for foam cutters you can make with your own hands, every master will be able to choose the best option for myself.
Long gone into oblivion standard construction. This is noticeable when visiting areas low-rise construction. Each home is individual and unique. But every household requires insulation, if it was not provided for during the construction process. It is unlikely that foam manufacturers will produce slabs custom size for small order volumes. You'll have to cut it. But how to cut polystyrene foam when installing thermal insulation for a building with your own hands?
Foamed polystyrene foam can be easily processed by cutting. Before cutting polystyrene foam at home, you need to determine the required accuracy and cleanliness of the cut. After that select necessary device for cutting foam from the following:
- saw (hacksaw);
- string;
- thermal cutter;
There is no clear answer to the question: “What is the best way to cut?” until there is a certainty in volume and linear dimensions processed parts.
Foam plastic should not be milled due to the extremely low mechanical stability of the material.
Just cutting
When carrying out work on insulating foundations, underground communications, floors under screed, facades under plaster, special precision and evenness of the cut are not very necessary. Moreover, if the building has a simple facade configuration. In this case, you can use hand tool for cutting foam plastic: knife, hacksaw, metal string.
Their use will lead to the loss of granules at the edge of the cut and the formation of a not entirely smooth edge. The presence of a loose fit of the slabs can be leveled by filling the voids with polyurethane foam.
Straight-line cutting with a finely serrated knife is justified with a material thickness of 50 mm; a hacksaw can be used to cut insulation up to 250 mm thick. You can use a serrated kitchen knife to cut foam. We buy a hacksaw with a fine tooth at a hardware store.
For ease of use, strings for cutting foam plastic (you can use old strings, for example from a guitar, having a spiral winding) are installed at its ends wooden handles. Cut the insulation back forward movements as if they were using a two-handed saw. Large slabs Two people can cut. In this case, the sheet to be cut must be secured.
Before cutting the foam, cutting edges needs to be processed liquid lubricant. This will create a certain comfort when working (improves gliding, reduces noise).
Curly carving on foam plastic using this tool is extremely difficult.
We use a thermal knife
Cutting polystyrene foam with your own hands using a thermal knife is justified for slab thicknesses up to 50 mm. To cut a piece of polystyrene, a hot knife is advanced with average speed, which ensures cutting quality without tearing out fragments and melting edges.
Purchasing a longer blade for this device is not entirely beneficial. At manual cutting It is impossible to make a cut strictly perpendicular to the surface. The end of the sheet will have a bevel, which is extremely inconvenient during installation. In order to better cut a thick sheet, it is necessary to cut on both sides, deepening the hot knife to half the thickness or a little more.
We make and use a thermal cutter
To cut polystyrene foam with your own hands, devices with a thin hot element are most often used. General principle The actions of any thermal cutter for foam plastic are the same.
The heated element separates the material, followed by sealing of the opened volumes. Using thermal cutters for foam plastic, we get a perfectly smooth cut, which is very important for quality work on insulation.
Purchasing a factory-made foam cutting machine is not economically feasible.
Only if you don’t decide to do this professionally and permanently. In most cases, when cutting out shaped elements is not required, you can use a homemade foam cutter.
Making a foam cutter with your own hands is quite simple and quite inexpensive. After the work is completed, it will not lie like a dead weight and take up space. It can be assembled and disassembled as needed. If there is no need, its components can be used for other purposes.
Before you make a foam cutter, you need to prepare everything you need:
- blank for work surface;
- nichrome wire;
- laboratory adjustable transformer (LATR);
Chrome-plated nichrome wire can be used without a step-down transformer, but this increases the risk of electric shock.
- electrical wire, fastening for it,
- springs for thread tension;
- adjustment mechanism.
When manufacturing and using the device, follow the rules for the design and operation of electrical installations.
To make equipment for cutting foam plastic, start by marking and trimming the working surface. Determine its geometric dimensions in accordance with the dimensions of the cut slabs. It is better if the table surface is larger than the sheet area.
We install racks (supports) with the possibility of adjustment. To do this, you may need a small device in the form of hexagonal bushings with internal thread. They will make it easier to adjust the cutting height. The cutting wire is tensioned using springs. We lay and fasten the electrical wire on different sides of the thread. We connect the other end of the cable to the LATR (if there is no LATR, it can be replaced by using an autotransformer for charging batteries car). The device is ready for use.
Cutting polystyrene foam at home should be carried out in compliance with safety measures. When heated, toxic smoke is released. Therefore, we cut out parts from foam plastic either outside, or use respiratory protection in a workplace equipped with exhaust ventilation.
Using such a device for cutting foam plastic allows you to speed up the process of preparing insulation fragments as much as possible.
We use automated systems
The delights of architectural design also require insulation. In order to preserve their expressiveness, it becomes necessary to manufacture complex elements. How to cut out such details? More affordable option- processing of insulation by milling. But milling of foam plastic is not carried out for the reason that the cutter, when rotating, tears out quite large pieces of material.
Dense polystyrene foam has higher mechanical strength and is easily milled. Anything can be made from it: a letter, a number, a graphic element of any complexity. Even a hedgehog. It is recommended to cut penoplex at high angular speeds with an average linear feed. To install the manufactured fragments on the façade, ceresite is used.
Laser cutting polystyrene foam is the most advanced technology, combining hot cutting tool and accuracy automated system. Laser cutting of foam plastic allows us to produce parts of any complexity with the highest precision with a minimum level of waste. Laser cutting of foam plastic ensures absolutely smooth surface cutting using a hot beam of directional light moving at high speed. There are no restrictions on the thickness of the material and the complexity of the element.
Selection of cutting equipment used for foam boards and for extruded polystyrene foam must be conscious. Meet technological requirements for finished products and be economically feasible.
Polystyrene foam is durable, lightweight and very good thermal insulation material. It is very easy to work with it. But there are some nuances in working with this material.
Since it is made in the form of large slabs, it is very often necessary to resort to cutting them. This can be done using a regular knife, but no matter how carefully you try to do it, it will not work.
And all because mechanical impact will disrupt the structure of the foam. That is why experts recommend using only a cutter or, as it is also called, a foam cutter for such actions.
Such multifunctional tool You can, of course, buy it, but if you make it yourself, you can adapt it to your needs and, of course, save money.
If you plan to work with a cutter for industrial purposes, then it is still better to buy an electrical device that will be designed for large and frequent loads.
How to do it yourself
The need for a cutter can arise at any time if you do some household chores quite often. Perhaps someone has encountered the need to make a part using a special mold for casting with epoxy resin.
And to do this, you will need a piece of foam. For example, you can use foam from TV packaging. It is necessary to draw on it using a ruler, compass and ballpoint pen places where holes will need to be made in the future.
This is where the need for an electric cutter comes into play. After all, fulfill given action without ruining the foam sheet, it will be difficult without such a tool. Let's consider one of the options for how to make a device of this type at home.
A homemade cutting device can be various designs. It is on it and the type of cutting that will depend on how exactly the cutter copes with its goals.
Kinds
Before you start making a cutter, you should decide for what purpose you need it, because depending on the purposes, they are divided into several groups:
- with metal work plate;
- for linear cutting;
- For figure cutting.
Stages of creation
Since linear cutting is the most common, let's look at this option in more detail:
- Cutting part. To do this you will need nichrome wire, approximately a spiral with a diameter of 0.6 mm. It can be taken from old electric stoves or other heating electrical appliances. The length of such a wire should be 14 cm (its resistance will be 2 ohms).
- Transformer application. For everything to be correct, the first step is to calculate the voltage and current for heating the cutting part. This can be done using the formula - Ohm's law I=U/R. Thus, you can determine the power of the power transformer.
- Making a cutter. The base can be made of any metal, but its length must be at least 11 cm. Next, an insulator - a PCB plate - must be attached to the end. Now fasten the contact groups along the edges of the plate; they can be removed from the electrical outlet. It is into these contacts that it will be possible to attach spirals of different shapes.
- How does the cutter work? After the cutter is plugged in, the wire will heat up and become slightly reddish in color. This is exactly what matters, since a heated cutter will make it possible to easily and quickly cut the foam, which will not peel off.
It is important to know: Having received such a device, in just three minutes it will be possible to cut the required shape from a sheet of foam plastic.
IN mandatory Follow all safety rules to avoid injury to yourself and others. After all, the power of the cutter is enough to damage any part of the body during operation. And connecting to electricity further increases the risk of injury.
Step-by-step production of a thermal cutter
You can make a thermal cutter using a burner or soldering iron and an old jigsaw. Let's consider the manufacture of such a device step by step:
- Sleeve. Initially, you need to make the main and most difficult thing - the bushing. So, to do this, the plate must be bent and turned. Next, you need to make a hole in the sleeve; the thread will be inserted there in the future.
- Burner. You need to cut off the wire that leads to the hole, take suitable connectors, and then solder them to the break point.
Note: Such areas must be isolated.
- After everything is done, you can connect the thermal cutter. Cut an old jigsaw in half. A pre-prepared claw plate must be attached to the upper part with screws. But we attach the bottom to the base using self-tapping screws.
- Insert the sleeve into the foot. Now with special attention From the hole you need to use a plumb line or a square to mark a point under the hole of the sleeve. Next, drill a hole in the base. The diameter of the hole in the base should be about 5 mm.
- Thermal cutting machine So, when everything is ready, you need to straighten the nichrome wire. To do this, you should turn on the burner at full power and touch the nichrome with the wires from it. Everything must be done in such a way that there is a distance between the wires equal to the height of the device. If the thread does not heat up, but the burner begins to hum, find a thinner wire. This is necessary because the one you selected does not have enough resistance.
Take note: nichrome should be hot, but should not get red hot. If the string turns red, you need to reduce its heating using the regulator. In the event that the nichrome is red, even at a minimum, then it is 5-10-15 cm higher than the spring nichrome wire It's worth leaving the compensator. And only after that you can make contact.
- Operation of the device. With a pre-installed guide, you need to cut foam dies to a given thickness, or you can make the shape curly.
Application
If you are making repairs or doing wood cutting, or you need to cut a piece of plywood, then an electric cutter will be very useful for you, which can also be used even for cutting thick fabric.
If you think that for all of the above actions you will only need to use a thermal knife, or a hacksaw will suffice, then you are mistaken.
After all, a hacksaw will not make the edges smooth and not torn, as is the case with a cutter.
Polystyrene foam is a lightweight, durable, good thermal insulation material that is very easy to work with. But it has one unpleasant feature: it is usually made in the form of fairly large slabs, which during operation have to be cut into smaller pieces. No matter how sharp the knife and saw are, they will not be able to accurately cut the slab, since mechanical action destroys the structure of the foam, causing it to crumble rather than cut. Therefore, you need to use a special foam cutter for cutting.
Foam plastic, like any material, requires cutting, which is why you need a cutter.
The simplest homemade foam cutter
This type of cutter is not difficult to make with your own hands. To do this, just take the thinnest guitar string and 4-5 large batteries for an electric flashlight. Having connected all the batteries in series into a single element, you need to connect a guitar string to its ends and secure it with electrical tape, closing electric arc. Due to the electric current passing through the string, the string will heat up.
Image 1. Diagram of a cutter that allows you to cut flat sheets from a block of foam plastic.
At the point of contact with heated to desired temperature with a string, the foam sheet will instantly melt, dividing into two halves, the cut of which will be fused and even. But for normal cutting, the string must be heated to a temperature of at least 120-150º. When working, it will not be difficult to determine whether the string has warmed up enough, since when cutting foam plastic, small stuck pieces will remain on the string. The longer such pieces remain, the lower the temperature of the string. But if they don’t remain on the string at all, then this means that this kind of thermal knife is heated more than necessary.
Such a primitive foam cutter can easily cut 2-3 large layers of material. But with large volumes of work, the batteries run out quickly, so in such cases a cutter powered by electricity is used.
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Options for homemade electric foam cutters
Conventionally, such devices can be divided into groups:
- cutter for linear cutting of foam plastic;
- cutter for shaped cutting of foam plastic;
- cutter with working metal plate.
But despite this division, all cutters have one thing in common.
To make them, you can’t do without a step-down transformer.
Such a transformer must be designed for a power of at least 100 W. Its secondary winding must be designed for a voltage of 15 V and have a winding wire cross-section of at least 1.5 mm.
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Foam Linear Cutting Cutter
Image 2. Diagram of a vertical cutter: 1 – cutting nichrome wire, 2 – weight, 3 – frame, 4 – working surface.
Such devices are mounted from a working surface (you can use a table surface) with two vertical risers attached to it, two insulators attached to the risers, connected to two contacts connected to a step-down transformer and a nichrome thread stretched between the insulators, as well as a freely hanging thread passed through one of the risers cargo (image 1).
This foam cutter works very simply. Passing through a nichrome thread, electricity heats it up, and the suspended weight keeps the thread taut, preventing it from sagging, since when heated it stretches quite strongly. Sometimes, instead of a suspended weight, a spring attached to one of the risers is used to tension the thread.
The heated thread easily cuts the body of the moving foam, turning it into flat sheets, the thickness of which depends only on the distance from the table surface to the tensioned wire. All you need to do is maintain a uniform flow rate of foam across the table surface.
For vertical cutting layers use a different cutter design, in which the cutting wire is stretched vertically (image 2). A frame, preferably welded from metal profile, but one made from wooden blocks (3) is also quite suitable.
The design of the frame provides for the presence of a holder-foot, to which a nichrome wire (1) is suspended using an insulator with a suspended load at the other end (2), passed through a hole drilled in the working surface. Since the nichrome thread will heat up, it is better to make the hole larger and insulate the wooden parts by inserting a metal hollow tube of hollow diameter into it, through the cavity of which the end of the wire with the load is brought out.
This foam cutter will not only easily cut large pieces of foam into blocks required sizes, but will also allow, if necessary, to cut squares, triangles, semicircles and other shaped holes in the material. To do this, just first draw a cutting line along the surface of the foam with a marker.
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Cutter for shaped cutting of foam plastic
If you need to cut sheets big size or thicknesses that, due to their size, cannot be placed on the workbench, then in such cases a manual electric cutter is used, converted from a hand jigsaw or a hacksaw, in which the cutting blade is replaced with nichrome wire.
Image 3. Diagram of a manual thermal cutter: 1 – nichrome cutting wire, 2 – screw with nut and washer, 3 – textolite handle 4-5 mm thick, 4 – electrical cord.
Such an electric cutter is not difficult to make with your own hands. At the same time, for the convenience of figure cutting, several working tools can be made different shapes(image 3). The cutting blade of a jigsaw or hacksaw is removed, and an electric wire (4) is connected to the handle (3). Although the voltage will not be too high, the handle is still the same as others metal elements, it is better to insulate at least with ordinary electrical tape. Instead of the cutting blade to the supplied electrical cable using screws and nuts with washers, a nichrome wire bent as required is attached (4).
As an option, you can also use a wood burning device or a pulse soldering iron to design such a cutter. Such a cutter will be even more convenient, since the electrical wire is initially provided for in the design of these devices. To turn these devices into an electric cutter for foam plastic, it is enough to replace the heating working tools in them with a piece of thick nichrome wire, giving it the desired shape.
Such hand cutters They are convenient because with their help you can not only cut sheets of foam plastic, but also cut out all sorts of recesses and cavities in them, remove chamfers, in a word, not just cut foam plastic into pieces, but sculpt real works of art from it.
