[blake374]

Hello

Just thought I would share some pictures of my CNC foam cutter. I developed this foam cutter to cut mouldings for use with stucco, stone and brick. I have been using it on a profesional level for just about a year and it is working great. I have successfully cut very large 2' x 2' mouldings and thousands of feet of smaller shapes.

The cutter also works great for cutting out numbers and letters. I made a couple signs last year and they looked great.





I am looking into cutting precast concrete forms, packing, and interior mouldings.

I am also starting to build these machines to order to for all sorts of different uses.


Blake

[blake374]

Here are some pictures of the jobs that I have done recently.

Address and numbers for a building renovation:





A sign for a new business:



Some very large mouldings for an appartment building:





Some smaller profilles:





Machine coated pieces drying:

[Joe S.]

Pretty impressive scale of work . . . what do you coat the foam with to " harden" it against weather, birds etc ? . . .

[blake374]

Hi Joe. I mainly make exterior mouldings so I use what is commonly known as a thin-set cement. It is basically cement with some additives for strength, adhesion and flexibility. I stick a layer of fiberglass mesh prior to coating in increase these properties.

The signs are just painted, but this is not the best way to do it. I think guys out there use things like fiber glass or a sprayed coat that gives a plastic like finish.

[Joe S.]

Thanks for the reply . . I have used thin set to set tile, good stuff, it's a pretty good scratch coat under plaster too. I was asking because I saw a news blurb about woodpeckers in a new housing development here in Calif. burying their nuts in foam moldings which made me think of , how to prevent that? I was also curious as to how you prevent Ultra Violet Light from destroying your good work. Not working in your industry, I asked so as to learn. Thank You,
JS

[blake374]

Joe

Wood peckers don't seem to problem in most areas but can be a problem. The best solution is too use wood pecker replant techniques.

Mouldings are designed to be very durable and stand up to the elements very well. The finish coat typically used on mouldings doesn't need any maintenance except maybe a power wash.

Blake

[astatue]

This is not your design this is a knock off of My design which has been sold for 7 years. You my friend are a fraud. You didn't develop anything, you copied someone else.


Work with the Innovator not the Immitator.

[giovanibabiani]

FoamSaber -- Indiegogo

[blake374]

Hi Scott

I didn't base my design on your machine. A friend of mine in Florida had some friends who had one of your machines that didn't work properly. He made a machine that worked better for them. I based my design on this machine.

I heard you could be a jerk when they needed tech support. I guess it is true.

Blake

[blake374]

I am over stocked on parts for cnc hotwire cutters. If anyone is looking for a great deal on an idustrial grade foam cutter please get in touch with me!

I think hotwire direct came up with this design first: 8300 CNC Specifications - Foam Cutter Hot Wire 3D EPS CNC - Architectural Concrete/GFRC Molds & Theming | Hotwire Direct?

Good machine if you have an extra $30,000

[blake374]

Here is a video of the machine running.

http://youtu.be/KbiTB4kY8-c

If you watch it on a PC/MAC you can scroll over the squares in the video for more info.

I cut about a hundred blocks of foam last year and the machine continues to do a great job. You really have to trust your foam cutter when you are about to cut up thousands of dollars of foam and you need it to be perfect. I ran a lot of the foam I cut through my coating machine so the accuracy had to be within a couple hundredths of an inch or it causes coating problems.

For more information visit http://www.dexmachine.com. This is the website I made for the hotwire and another machine I made.

[Greg9504]

What software (CAM) do you use?

[blake374]

I use Desk CNC. It works really well for cutting multiple profiles from a sheet or block of foam.

[Ronnie B]

Blake,

Really a nice machine. I am just getting interested in foam cutting and have been trying to come up with my own design. I really like how clever this is! There are few people out there that give away plans and directions but the machines are pretty small. I really want to do something bigger.

Again, thanks for sharing!

Ron

[blake374]

Hi Ron

Thanks for the reply! The foam cutter has been cutting for years now with no problems at all. My foam shop is getting super busy now so I am thinking of adding a second wire to the machine so it cuts faster.

If you get going on building a machine let me know if you have any questions. I might be able to help you out!

Blake

[Ronnie B]

Hey Blake,

A second wire sounds like a good idea. I guess you would cut (2) pieces simultaneously then? I am looking at building a lathe type cutter as well as I have some parts that would be perfect for that. I have seen a few and they are similar to yours as far as structure goes but I'm not sure how involved it would be for the rest of it. Thanks for the offer of help, I might take you up on that!

Ron