Which bit is your favorite for cutting alum with printed vinyl decals on-Colex machine

[FS-Keith]

We make a lot of .063 alum parking signs and we print the vinyl/laminate then apply to the alum sheets. What is the best bits you have found to keep the vinyl from gumming up? This is a brand new colex sharp cut. Upcut or downcut? any specific bit you can recommended??

 

[solock]

Our best experience for preprinted/stuck/aluminum signs is face down, upcut 0 flute. Particularly using amana 51810K or 51810Z coated upcut bits. scarring the wasteboard slightly but the edge is good and a clean cut.
Downcut with a 51508Z is easier but it can be a slightly unclean edge on the vinyl since it is unsupported and can leave a fuzzy (on the vinyl) edge Not bad for a street sign but not for a regular sign.

Facedown, upcut is all that really works for direct print for perfect edge as well, downcut direct print hasnt worked for direct printed pieces.

Coated bits make the inevitable cleanup easier. Soak them in simple green at the end of the day and wipe off tomorrow with alcohol. Cant seem to not leave some residue when routing vinyl.

Cutting on a 4x4 table, Not cutting on a colex so not knowing how it references zero x y , but a physical "fence" for a referenced zero works for us.

 

[Print1]

Downcut 530 bit, we carry bits and blades that do a better job but the 530 is the stock bit that comes with the machine and is used for dibond and aluminum really up to .040. I can send you a bits breakdown if needed or refer you to our partner whom had a wide variety of bits, blades and spoiler mats.

 

[devdev]

Our best experience for preprinted/stuck/aluminum signs is face down, upcut 0 flute. Particularly using amana 51810K or 51810Z coated upcut bits. scarring the wasteboard slightly but the edge is good and a clean cut.
Downcut with a 51508Z is easier but it can be a slightly unclean edge on the vinyl since it is unsupported and can leave a fuzzy (on the vinyl) edge Not bad for a street sign but not for a regular sign.

Facedown, upcut is all that really works for direct print for perfect edge as well, downcut direct print hasnt worked for direct printed pieces.

Coated bits make the inevitable cleanup easier. Soak them in simple green at the end of the day and wipe off tomorrow with alcohol. Cant seem to not leave some residue when routing vinyl.

Cutting on a 4x4 table, Not cutting on a colex so not knowing how it references zero x y , but a physical "fence" for a referenced zero works for us.

I have heard of folks cutting face down, but how does one cut face down if the machine needs to read nodes printed on the face? Our application/mounting can be pretty good, but it's never perfect.
We run into this issue (adhesive sticking to bits) often and would love to hear what others have to say! Especially when working with more industrial types of vinyls.
The fence is usually a good call, waiting to get a new machine with some pins!!!!

 

[Print1]

Drill the reg dots out, flip piece use holes as new reg dots. Mirror job on the flip.

 

[JBurton]

The fence is usually a good call, waiting to get a new machine with some pins!!!!

The pins are the bees knees man, but unless you are sticking perfectly every time, they won't replace the camera... Drilling out the marks and flipping the panel works, but it's a pain and nearly doubles the time. I've found running a sprayer of rapidtac keeps the adhesive from sticking aluminum chips to the sign, but that stuff is pricey to use as a no-stick solution.
Ideally you'd groove your table for stuff like 12x18's, then use a downcut bit. It should eliminate/minimize the chips coming up, adhesive on the bit isn't so much the issue as packing chips downward and under the vinyl. Belin 22317 is my go to downcut bit.

 

[Print1]

Also, which spoiler are you running? That’s also very important as well as speeds and feed. We can remote in with ya and confirm your settings are the news v8

 

[devdev]

The pins are the bees knees man, but unless you are sticking perfectly every time, they won't replace the camera... Drilling out the marks and flipping the panel works, but it's a pain and nearly doubles the time.

This is kind of what i thought! We have some clean work coming out of our cnc room with some minor adjustments at the moment but the gumming of the bits was always something of mention!
Pins would be nice for making blanks or backers in our case. I am still daydreaming of some of the machines we saw in Atlanta last month lol