Home Built Hot Wire CNC Foam cutter
Day 1 - Vertical Y Axis
Day 2 - Horizontal X Axis
Day 3 - Lead Screw
Day 4 - Electronics
Day 5 - Finalizing the machine
Other CNC foam cutters
A New Design - Hot wire CNC Foam cutter
Foam Sample Cuts
Foam Cutting Videos
Links - RC stuff, Stepper Motors, Lead Screws
More information - about stepper motors

Links
DIY Mach3 with Joystick and gamepad
FoamLinx Site - Foam Cutting CNC Machines
CNCLinx Site - CNC Router Tables
Foam Cutting Services - EPP, EPS, XPS
Composites Prototyping and Design
Large and Configurable CNC Machines *
Low cost Hot Wire Foam Cutters
Online Store



Articles
How to coat EPS foam (Crown Moldings)
How to build an EPS Foam Recycler
How to build an EPS base and Cap cutter
How is EPS manufactured - molded
How to make RC foam planes
How to cut EPS, XPS, EPP foam
How to cut Polyurethane foam ( PU )
How to cut Acrylics - Laser cutting
DIY CNC Foam Cutter Blog - New

What is - more info about foam
What is EPS foam
What is XPS foam
What is EPP foam - Expanded Polypropylene
What is PE foam - Polyethylene foam
What is Polyurethane foam
What is Memory Foam

 

Sunnyvale

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                                                         Last Updated Dec 3 2010

                                                Home Built Hot wire CNC Foam cutter

Interested in building a low cost CNC hot wire foam cutter ? well this is the right place
Here we will post pictures and instructions of how to build a low cost foam cutter.
This design is the 4th generation foam cutter and I think that this design is the least
expensive and the fastest to put together, most parts can be found in your local hardware store, like Home Depot..
The first prototype was made out of wood, but didn't look "professional" enough, so I decided to go with a more robust design made of steel.

The design can be modified to almost any size. Keep in mind that for longer travel you will need a longer lead screw.
The problem with a long lead screw is that because it its own mass, it will "wobble" in higher speeds.
One way to overcome this problem is to move to a larger diameter lead screw.
Another way is to move to a chain or belt driven design. Belt driven machines are usually 8' and longer but require the use
of micro-stepping.  An example of a machine larger then 8 foot would be a surfboard foam cutter.
Some surfboards are up to 12 feet in length, the only way to cut these boards would be a belt driven or chain driven mechanism
I will try to cover this topic in the future with a sample machine and pictures...

We started out building a machine to cut wing cores, but soon after we discovered a huge interest
In the machine for other industries - like moldings, architectures, surfboards, Logos, props, packaging
Willow Sills, Casings, Wainscoat , Fascia, Crown, Parapets, Wallcaps, Pediments, Quatrefoils, Columns

Based on this design you can modify it to build a Plasma cutter, and a CNC router, Plotter flat bed printer and linear slides.