Polystyrene Cutting Plotter

Description

The FOAMCUTTER is a plotter that uses the hot-wire technique for cutting polystyrene and, in general, all materials that can be worked with this method.
It allows you to create models of various kinds, lettering, boxes, templates for Christmas decorations, boxed letters, logos, symbols, 3D puzzles, etc.
What makes the cutter even more appealing is its cutting speed and the simplicity of creating templates starting from images and silhouettes available online.
The structure is very simple and light, so much so that the total weight does not exceed 4 kg.
It consists of aluminum profiles 20x20mm, 20x40mm and laser-cut plexiglass parts that act as a frame, two NEMA17 stepper motors, timing belts, pulleys and the control electronics board with the relative motor drivers, all managed with the classic G-code commands.

The PC software that allows you to create the drawings of the pieces we want to cut is “Inkscape“, a vector graphics software that is particularly interesting not only for the multitude of tools it puts at our disposal, but also for the fact that it is open-source.
It has a series of very useful tools that allow you to draw, create geometric shapes, import images and make lettering in many writing styles.
To generate the G-code directly from Inkscape, you need to download a plug-in, created specifically for this machine, called “Foamcutter” which can be downloaded free of charge.

To control the machine, the Repetier-Host software is used, which loads the created G-Code file and directly executes its commands.

The package includes: The polystyrene cutting plotter (code 7300-FOAMCUTTER) complete with electronics board, drivers, motors, USB cable, power supply, mechanical parts and detailed assembly instructions in Italian.

Attention! the display is not included.

Some examples

Detailed assembly instructions

Software installation

Documentation and useful links

• Drawing software: Inkscape
• Cutting software: Repetier-Host
• Plugin: Foamcutter