Laser-It coated aluminium

[Craig McWilliam]

Hi,
We've quoted on a job for some new clients. They delivered material that they would like us to use for the job (.5mm Laser-It coated aluminum) which is from the States and not something I've seen before in South Africa. Anyways, I engraved a small sample to see what it looks like and it looks really good.
The problem is cutting the material, I tried to cut it with our CNC machine and it made a mess of the edges. The company we normally use to cut our anodized aluminium say they won't touch anything that's coated.
What's the normal method for cutting coated aluminum? I'm really hoping we don't have to use another material because this stuff really is nice.

[Mike Null]

A standard engraver's shear such as the Accucutter should do the job. I cut .025" coated aluminum with mine with no problem. I have the 13" version. As I recall I paid $800-900 US.

http://www.accucutter.com/4001.htm

When I have to make unusual shapes I make a thin wood pattern and then use my router with a pattern bit to do the finish work. I trim it as close as possible with the shear first.

[Tony Lenkic]

As Mike said, get a bench top shear from Accucutter. Most economical is 12" model # 2001EVO

Another one to look at is :
http://www.maintrophysupply.com/presses.htm