Foam Board cutting?

pdobrien · October 21, 2015, 4:57pm

I believe you can. Here’s a youtube video of it being done (not on a GF of course): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIxXOCrdSGM

Note that the foam melts away so as @jrnelson noted, the edges are concave.

Basscor · October 21, 2015, 4:58pm

Was it a 40W laser at that maker space?
Adams foam board is the stuff you can get at the Dollar Tree (also called DTFB)
Elmers is the stuff you can get at craft stores and supercenters etc

Basscor · October 21, 2015, 5:00pm

Hmm that looks like a lot more under cutting then I was expecting…

Also looks like the FFF foam will cut too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8yYHKyvb9k

but that was a 100W tube, I want to know if the Pro’s 45W tube will cut it

septimus39 · October 21, 2015, 5:02pm

Could this be one of those situations where the…something something zero…quality of the Glowforge laser might make a significant difference?

Basscor · October 21, 2015, 5:04pm

The better focus and mode control advertised? Yes I think that would make a difference, but is it a significant difference? I guess I’m hoping someone at Glowforge can weigh in on the question

angrysquare · October 21, 2015, 5:14pm

Many foam types will also have charring from the laser along the edges, which makes it a pain in the ass to glue two pieces of foam together without sanding the charred parts off with sandpaper.

jrnelson · October 21, 2015, 5:44pm

I don’t know how powerful it was, but it was not that powerful. Certainly no 100W laser, and both Glowforges will handle foam no problem.

dwardio · October 21, 2015, 6:35pm

DTFB shouldn’t be a problem at 40w. Our makerspace has an 80w Rabbit, but the best settings for cutting DTFB are well below 40w. As others have mentioned, cutting it an a single pass creates a concave pocket on either side of the cut (melting foam), but for FliteTest-build techniques, this is actually a plus!

Others striving for a straight (no-pocketing) cut have gone to a 3-pass cutting strategy, 1st pass cuts the top layer of paper, the 2nd (very low power) pass cuts the foam, and the 3rd cuts the bottom layer of paper. With the photo-registration capabilities of the GF, I bet this could be done as well.

Btw, I too am looking forward to creating foam, balsa, and ply pieces for RC aircraft!

dan · October 22, 2015, 10:24pm

Definitely many, but not all, foams that can be cut on GF.

brian · October 23, 2015, 12:08am

I’m planning to cut FliteTest R/C plane plans out of Depron foam. It’s already a commonly used foam in the scratch build R/C plane world, and appears to be safe to cut, with very clean edges. Looking forward to seeing how they turn out.

Basscor · October 23, 2015, 12:24am

Ok you caught me that is what I was planning on doing!

dan · October 23, 2015, 1:58am

That makes three of us. I love RC foamies.

rodrigobrionesm · October 23, 2015, 5:28am

Now we are four, I just preordered thinking exactly the same

stevenrhenry · March 8, 2017, 1:23am

Since you’ve had a little time to play with yours… have you cut any foamies yet? This is the main reason my Pro has been on order.

stevenrhenry · June 23, 2017, 12:37pm

The new low power settings are going to make this a reality. Can’t wait to see the first one take shape!

karaelena · June 23, 2017, 5:42pm

I did foamcore a couple months ago.

(half-way down)

stevenrhenry · June 23, 2017, 10:46pm

This will be amazing. Cutting foamies with the kids without the razor blades.

Basscor · December 4, 2017, 4:08pm

What settings did you end up using on the foamboard? I looked through your post and didn’t see it.

Thanks!

dan · December 5, 2017, 4:27am

Can you post a new question in Problems & Support to discuss? That’s where discussion of manual settings goes - thanks!