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pcb guillotine

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Douglas Johnston04/02/2011 10:23:50
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814 forum posts
36 photos
I have been thinking about getting a guillotine for cutting fibreglass pcb material for some time but the cost of commercial units is prohibitive. My thoughts then turned to making one and I searched the web for inspiration without too much success.
 
Has anybody ever seen plans for such a tool or any technical details such as the best blade angle to use.
 
Doug
joegib09/02/2011 17:33:21
154 forum posts
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As you say, commercial guillotines for PCB cutting are pretty expensive, costing around £200 or more. One alternative I've seen used is a metal shear of the type shown here:
 
 
— but even that is still expensive at over £100 and it only has a 7-inch throat.
 
Can't say I've seen a DIY version in the ME press over the years.
 
You know your own mind but do you really need a machine for this? I mean, are you routinely shearing so much of this stuff as to warrant a dedicated unit? I only ask because I recently came across this video from a Chinese guy selling photoresist film on Ebay:
 
 
The first segment is the one of interest. This shows him using a simple (not to say primitive) cutting frame in conjunction with a 'scrawker'. The latter is a special cutting tool used by modellers for accurately cutting plasticard and thin gauge metal sheet. It was popularised by Colin Binney, I believe, and is described here:
 
 
It's the 3rd tool down, here called a 'Cutting Hook', and consists of nothing more than a spent hacksaw blade shaped to form a hook and which is held in a padsaw.
 
What struck me looking at the Chinese guy's technique was how simple it was — just use the frame to accurately score the PCB on on both sides a few times, and break at the score line.
 
As the heavy-duty photo guillotine I've used for this purpose over the years is beginning to show its age I'm tempted to make a cutting frame along these lines — I'd want something a little more elaborate though.
 
Joe
 

Edited By joegib on 09/02/2011 17:37:14

Edited By joegib on 09/02/2011 17:42:47

David Clark 109/02/2011 20:16:14
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3357 forum posts
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10 articles
Hi There
Waht about the small Proxon circular saw?
Available for under £100.
regards david
 
David Colwill10/02/2011 01:00:18
782 forum posts
40 photos
I have one of the warco 3 in 1 metalworkers with guillotine, bender and slip rolls. I mainly use it for cutting pcbs and it comes in handy for all sorts of other things as well! Mine is the 24 inch version. Well worth a look.
Hope this helps.
Dave
Frank Dolman10/02/2011 01:40:39
106 forum posts

Eye and lung protection if using David's idea of a circular saw on glass-fibre!
Douglas Johnston10/02/2011 10:09:04
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814 forum posts
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Thanks for the replies to my query, the hook shaped cutter looks like a good idea and reminded me of hooked carpet cutting blades for a stanley knife so I must give that a try.
In response to the comment about really needing a guillotine, the answer has to be no, but a neat solution to a problem is always appealing to me. There is also the safety aspect to think about since I don't like the idea of breathing in fibreglass dust which is produced from any type of sawing.
Paper guillotines might be another answer but the cheap modern ones don't look beefy enough to tackle pcb material, although a good old fashioned one might be up to the task.
 
Doug
 
Billy Mills10/02/2011 12:39:40
377 forum posts
The Proxxon saws all have a dust extraction port for a domestic vac cleaner for dust extraction ( the circular and bandsaw models) and have good solid carbide and tipped carbide saw blades available. They are good for G10/ FR4 and PTFE substrates , SRBP laminates are also no problem. The small table saw is an entry level product with a fixed height blade, the larger table saw is a very potent small circular saw which is a very useful machine- would not be without one!
 
The scribe and snap method is just about OK for SRBP but stronger laminates tend to delaminate unless the scores go deep at which point you are almost through.
Liked the scoring jig!
 
Regards,
Alan.

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