Cutting double-sided copper-clad sheet

[adriank]

I'm attempting to follow Tony Reynald's article on building a GWR 55 foot turntable in MRJ 11. In it he uses double-sided copper-clad fibreglass sheet for the deck. Is there a good way to cut this material cleanly? I've seen other references in which a piercing saw is used but with a cut 22cm long I don't think it's the way to go.

 

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Adrian

[Jol Wilkinson]

Adrain,

 

I have used a Tamiya Plastic scriber knife 74901. It has a hooked "scrawker" end on the blade and you can cut out a groove through the copper clad with repeated passes.

 

Alternatively, some piercing saw frames can be set at 90 deg. to the blade and  used against a guide metal straight edge clamped to the copper clad.

 

Jol

[adriank]

Thanks Jol.

 

I've an Olfa cutter that has a similar 'scrawker' so I'll give that a go.

 

I also remembered I have a plastic handle that will hold a broken hacksaw blade securely which I think will do the job.

 

Cheers,

 

Adrian

[Siberian Snooper]

At the EM skills day at Kidderminster one of the demonstrators used a milling machine to cut copper clad for split frame chassis construction.

[Gordon H]

I use a Proxxon KS230 table saw with a diamond coated disc cutter for working on fibreglass PCB material (FR4).

[decauville1126]

Copperclad kills blades and saws in no time due to the glass component. The only way I do it nowadays is to guillotine it, although the blade will no doubt suffer over time.

 

My son tried laser cutting some at his work but the copper reflects the laser beam leaving a gooey mess.

[Allegheny1600]

 

Thanks Jol.

 

I've an Olfa cutter that has a similar 'scrawker' so I'll give that a go.

 

I also remembered I have a plastic handle that will hold a broken hacksaw blade securely which I think will do the job.

 

Cheers,

 

Adrian

 

Yep!

I've used an Olfa cutter many times to cut copperclad sheets without any problems.

I score through with several gentle cuts from both sides then use a glass cutting technique of 'snapping' it over a sharp edge. You don't need much more than the edge of a kitchen worktop (side) but you must support the copperclad firmly over most of its length on both sides of the 'snap'.

Cheers,

John.

[sej]

There you go Adrian; it's a Proxxon milling machine with a 1mm cutter on 1.5mm double sided PCB. It did seem to be chewing the cutter up a bit, which eventually broke because I hadn't adequately secured the PCB to the wooden board beneath and it vibrated...ping! More double-sided sticky tape next time. I would have thought you could rotate it quite easily.

Cheers

Simon

[markjj]

You need a tungsten carbide saw or PCB milling cutter. I used to make antenna for mobile phone masts, TV transmitters and other outside broadcast use from PCB material. These were often complex shapes which we cut out either with a saw very similar to a proxxon saw or a CNC operated PCB milling machine. The cutters we used can be brought reasonably cheaply on eBay they are tungsten carbide and often regrinds from PCB manufacturers.

[doilum]

Since we have gone beyond simple hand tools, my choice would be a band saw. Cut just wide of the line and file to finish. Not sure what it is made from, but wear a mask. It is horrible stuff.

I also rip up the thicker brass sheet in the same way. Just push it through the blade on a piece of sacrificial hardboard to avoid "grabbing".

[Ian G]

I have in the past used my minicraft circular saw with a fine blade.

 

Ian G

[adriank]

Yep!

I've used an Olfa cutter many times to cut copperclad sheets without any problems.

I score through with several gentle cuts from both sides then use a glass cutting technique of 'snapping' it over a sharp edge. You don't need much more than the edge of a kitchen worktop (side) but you must support the copperclad firmly over most of its length on both sides of the 'snap'.

Cheers,

John.

 

Thanks for the details John. Much appreciated.

 

Adrian