1400 router and ACM (aluminum composite material)
- Thread starter Didier
- Start date
if you make the groove the right depth, you can bend it by hand. for very long folds, you can use a wood board as braking helper. i don't know if you've seen this:
http://www.festool.com.au/WebRoot/Store/Shops/tooltechnic/MediaGallery/Guides/routing/routing_Alucobond_174__composite_panels.pdf
i use bits from here:
http://www.toolstoday.com/c-206-router-bits.aspx
i've only done very little, but there's a fabrication guide pdf on the alucobond site
http://www.festool.com.au/WebRoot/Store/Shops/tooltechnic/MediaGallery/Guides/routing/routing_Alucobond_174__composite_panels.pdf
i use bits from here:
http://www.toolstoday.com/c-206-router-bits.aspx
i've only done very little, but there's a fabrication guide pdf on the alucobond site
Teocaf,
Thank you. I already knew about the PF1200 saw and the cutting blade for Alucobond but they do not sell it in the USA. I have a friend in Germany who could get it for me but it does not exist in our current 60htrz. I am going to try with my 1400 router and see if I can get repetitive accurate groves. We are in the middle of an R&D project and we know we will eventually use a CNC Alucobond machine but before we commit to the expense we want to be familiar with ACM.
Anyway thanks a lot for answering my quest. I have more experience with cabinetry .
Sincerely
Didier
Thank you. I already knew about the PF1200 saw and the cutting blade for Alucobond but they do not sell it in the USA. I have a friend in Germany who could get it for me but it does not exist in our current 60htrz. I am going to try with my 1400 router and see if I can get repetitive accurate groves. We are in the middle of an R&D project and we know we will eventually use a CNC Alucobond machine but before we commit to the expense we want to be familiar with ACM.
Anyway thanks a lot for answering my quest. I have more experience with cabinetry .
Sincerely
Didier
Might be a little late, but here's my experience with folding massive (non-dibond) 2mm aluminium sheets for a custom extractor hood project, for this material to fold nicely i needed ~1.5mm deep v-grooves.
First i used a OF 1010 router with the Festool dibond router bit (i know, not made for the material - but it survived the several meters i did without any noticeable wear) on a FS rail, this worked ok but was slow since i did it in several passes.
Since i had quite some folds to make i turned to using a TS 55 REBQ with the TF52 blade in 45° setting on the rail. Because the blade is 2mm and i cut 1.5mm deep the resulting groove was nicely v-shaped and completed in a single quick pass - for the few sharper ~150° bends i needed i did another pass directly next to the first one, resulting in a maybe not a perfect completely filled corner but good enough for my purpose.
The only hazzle was the initial setup of exact cut depth with the screw on the knob (and some test cuts), only pitfall was to realize that the FS had to supported all the way by the material to be vertically completely straight or the cut wouldn't be the same depth all the way, so i supported the FS with remainders from the first cuts all the way.
Result was (compared to using the router) cleaner and way quicker, all folds folded nicely and without tear.
You might need to do a second cut from the other side (turning the FS) to get the V-shape right since your material is thicker so the blade won't cut both sides of the groove in one pass, but should you have a TS, FS and a TF52 blade at hand this could do the trick for you - at least for low volumes or samples.
Gregor
First i used a OF 1010 router with the Festool dibond router bit (i know, not made for the material - but it survived the several meters i did without any noticeable wear) on a FS rail, this worked ok but was slow since i did it in several passes.
Since i had quite some folds to make i turned to using a TS 55 REBQ with the TF52 blade in 45° setting on the rail. Because the blade is 2mm and i cut 1.5mm deep the resulting groove was nicely v-shaped and completed in a single quick pass - for the few sharper ~150° bends i needed i did another pass directly next to the first one, resulting in a maybe not a perfect completely filled corner but good enough for my purpose.
The only hazzle was the initial setup of exact cut depth with the screw on the knob (and some test cuts), only pitfall was to realize that the FS had to supported all the way by the material to be vertically completely straight or the cut wouldn't be the same depth all the way, so i supported the FS with remainders from the first cuts all the way.
Result was (compared to using the router) cleaner and way quicker, all folds folded nicely and without tear.
You might need to do a second cut from the other side (turning the FS) to get the V-shape right since your material is thicker so the blade won't cut both sides of the groove in one pass, but should you have a TS, FS and a TF52 blade at hand this could do the trick for you - at least for low volumes or samples.
Gregor
Kaleburditt
Member
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2017
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- 1
Not to revive an old thread here but just wanted to chime in as it was not answered. I use the 1400 and cut tons of acm. Use the special bit and cut as deep as possible right prior to the aluminum. I make grooves that are 16 feet long and have made hundreds.
Issues are pressure and seams in the track. Doesn't matter what the depth number is because the weight of your arm on the router will make or break a fold. The key is to set it once and have the same guy do the same thing every time. The little leveling foot kinda sucks for this application. Offset base was the winner.
I came across this trying to find other options. Amana makes a blade that I might be able to get bored out for the 55.
Issues are pressure and seams in the track. Doesn't matter what the depth number is because the weight of your arm on the router will make or break a fold. The key is to set it once and have the same guy do the same thing every time. The little leveling foot kinda sucks for this application. Offset base was the winner.
I came across this trying to find other options. Amana makes a blade that I might be able to get bored out for the 55.
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