Digital die cutters. A possible alternative to laser cutting?

[clevermod01]

Has anyone on this forum had any experience or interest in Digital die cutters. I am very interested in your experiences. I am rather new to it (learning fast) however they are in common use with card stock modelers and the war and fantasy game communities. these machines come from the vinyl sign cutting industry. Small lightweight machines like craft robo (150 gms of force) have been developed for the scrapbook crowd but there are a heavier class of machine (700 to 950gms of force) that modelers might find useful. Their operation mirrors that of laser cutters in that it is basically computer controlled platen along an X axis and a cutting head that moves along the Y axis. Patterns are generated in software.
The cutting area is from 13" X 118" to 24" X 118"
I want to disclose that (as some of you know) I am one of the owners of Clever models and we make card stock based kits. We are also about to become resellers of the Boss cut Gazelle and the KNK (klick N Kut) line of digital die cutters. I asked Russ  for his approval before hand and in the interest of spreading information about a technology that might be of use to the group he graciously gave his assent.
As I get first hand experience with these machines I will share experiences and run tests.
Thanks
Thom M

[eTraxx]

Interesting ..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uMA6q7a7UI

[clevermod01]

Ed, I just posted some pix of a railcar made from .020 styrene on the MRR forum. I am excited about this.
Thom

[SandiaPaul]

a link, some pics?
Sorry I am not familiar with MRR forum. I tried Model railroader but didn't see anything there.

Thanks,

Paul

[clevermod01]

http://www.kitforums.com/

[finescalerr]

Please explain what these cutters do, their strengths and limitations, their prices, and how we can use them. -- Russ

[SandiaPaul]

What is the smallest practical thing you can cut? Could it sat do lettering on the order of an O scale builders plate? I'm just trying to get an idea...

Paul

[eTraxx]

Looking around the Klic-N-Cut website, there is a Message Board - and a FAQ page - figure that's the place to ask these questions .. 'I betcha'

[clevermod01]

There support is pretty good. though most of their users are crafters. I understand that there is a new Yahoo group "KNK-modelers" but I have not found it yet. It would only be in existence for the last week or so.
I can answer a lot of questions about speck but software and tech support issues are there.
I'll know a lot more when I see the physical results of the tests I sent them.
Accuracy pretty much matches what lasers do. there is the physical limitation imposed by the size of the blade. You would also have to take into account the combined stresses of the blade and the material. I might think that the grain in wood might be an issue since wood is prone to split if stressed in the wrong direction. the tighter the grain the better. I have the specs. these are for the smallest machine.

Max cut width is 12.125" up to 24" on larger machines
Max material width is 13"
Max length is 118"
Cutting speed is .5" to 12"sec.  speeds selectable
Cutting force is from 50grms to 950grms  levels selectable
Max resolution is 1/1000".1000dpi
Repeatability 0.004"
Max depth is 1mm or .32"

Plastic up to .040 have been cut with multiple passes. .020 no problem.

The prices will be from around $450 to just under $1000 (we are offering a special price on the first two machines of each brand. contact me off line if interested)

Like any high tech device there is a learning curve and you should not expect perfect results right out of the box. people are doing a lot of experimenting and new materials are a trial and error process.

This info is from various web forums and the Boss Kut and KNK websites.
Thom

[clevermod01]

Here are a few pix of HO rail cars made with the KNK digital die cutter.
These are made by layering .02 styrene to create the dimension.

Thom

[finescalerr]

I now understand why you think the machines have promise. Do you have a link to higher resolution images? The key to all this is a good, close look at what the cutter can do. -- Russ

[clevermod01]

Russ, Hi res has been hard to find because this is so new and so few people are doing it. I'll share everything I get. These cars are from a gent in Australia and i have another guy who is more local to me up in Milwaukee. I'm trying to get up there to visit. My own machine should be here in a couple of weeks.

here's an additional pic of a car side and the 2 layouts used to cut the parts.

Thom

[searoom]

I have just been handed the keys to a Graphtec CE5000-40. My predecessor gave me only a cursory demo with vinyl before leaving for greener (he hopes) pastures. So I just downloaded the manual and need to get behind the learning curve fast. We have been using this machine just for Vinyl letters only, but I see on the info sheet that it can be used for card stock. The info sheet states that the machine is good for architectural models. Can anyone fill me in a little on such a prize.

Garry

[Chuck Doan]

I would be interested in having .015 thick styrene cut into easy shapes. (just need several duplicates of the same shape) Is anyone offering die-cutting services?

[JohnP]

Chuck, VectorCut Dave can cut styrene. The sidewalls are a little rough but not bad depending on the application. I can certainly see how the smooth die cut would be nice. My bridge kit parts come to mind- flat thin shapes.

Thanks for the thread all.
John