I see that a piece this big is JUST slightly too big to fit in the crumbtray. I know the machine cant cut the entire sheet at once, but i just wanna not have to cut the acrylic before using the laser to fit it in.
I know theres the pass through slot, but that doesnt help me with width. Any tips / solutions you guys have? I am going to be cutting like 150 items, since im a teacher.
You cannot fit the 12" x 24" piece on the crumb tray. It will interfere with the rollers on the sides. You basically have two choices -
@wilsonpf is right, I had an 1/8" piece of plywood up on the edge of the tray and it jammed the gantry causing it to go askew.
ah okay, it definitely can do 12" though?
i wouldn’t out anything thicker than 1/4 (3mm) up on the sides of the tray and only to the edge of it - any thicker or wider will most likely cause a jam or worse -
I buy a lot of acrylic in 12x24.
step one: to the garage.
I used to score and snap my acrylic - straight edge and razor… score both sides really well, and then I built a snapping jig (not quite a clamp but a 1/2" slot to hold it) under the workbench.
Now I use the table saw. Not entirely sure it’s better; but with a big stack it is faster.
Step 2: go to the Glowforge materials shelves.
I know its another step, and in some far distant future I’d like a Glowforge with a 12x24" bed.
For now, though, that’s the best workflow.
Front to back is not a problem…but if you do not want to potentially damage your machine, do not let the material extend over onto the right and left side plastic areas of the tray.
(Keep it on the gridded area of the tray.)
1/4" is more like 6mm. 3mm is nominally 1/8".
Same with me… Used to score/snap, which works great most of the time. Then just started using my table saw. You do kind of have to think things through though… Do I want two 12"x12" pieces when I’m done? Or a 20"x12" and a 4"x12"? Or something else?
i think this is important. and it’s part of why i stopped cutting things down before i needed to use them as much.
I meant 1/8 (3mm) I was typing too fast lol
Sometimes I know; but I have been pretty happy with 12x18 for big pieces and 12x6 for little pieces for most situations… and when bigger matters, I’ve obtained a fresh sheet (and more! because I’m in the plastic shop and hey this is cool…) without too much heartache.
I use a sliding miter saw (you could do on table saw too) but with the blade set to 45 and just enough depth to make a partial score. Then I snap.
Don’t know if that’s the best or worst combination of methods.
No seriously don’t do that. Especially with acrylic. I set a red-sail clone (called Clifford the big red laser) on fire that way when the acrylic sagged and snagged the head. A square foot of the acrylic went up (it was impressive). Required fire extinguishers…
I use a slider also, the reach is exactly 12" so I can cut to my requirements and not end up with the edge inches from a full sheet.
I use my table saw or my track saw on my MFT/3 to cut sheets; depending on what else I’m doing at the time.
Wish I had the room for a table saw. As it is, I jockey tools/surfaces to accommodate my affliction.
I bought my MFT/3 after the table saw. Being able to use it as a workbench, build table, and for cutting many of the same things I’d use the table saw for, I’m not sure I would have bought the table saw if I had to make the choice again.
If you have a sliding miter saw with 12" reach and a certain sense of adventure, you can cut wider pieces by flipping them and dropping the blade down into the kerf for registration. I’ve got some of those now for playing with full depth and snapmarks.
Thanks community! Please open a new thread if you have more questions.