Cutting 1/4" Rubber

[Joe Pelonio]

One of my wholesale customers ordered 200 of the metal travel mugs with screened logos for a tugboat company. Unfortunately the rubber on the bottom is slick and not suitable for a boat. He has asked me to cut new
"doughnuts" from some real rubber sheets, it's about 1/4" thick. I've tried
a lot of settings but no luck. Lots of flaming and only goes 1/2 way thru.
Last try was 5 speed, 100 power, 1000 freq with wet transfer tape, went
half way thru and made it mushy from the heat (Epilog 45 watt). Anyone
cut 1/4" rubber before?

[Lee DeRaud]

1/4" sounds way too thick for that application. Is it solid or some kind of foam?

[Joe Pelonio]

Not foam, I've cut 1/4" "fun foam" before, this is solid, black rubber. Not real dense but solid.

[Lee DeRaud]

Not foam, I've cut 1/4" "fun foam" before, this is solid, black rubber. Not real dense but solid.Dunno what to tell you. I would have thought that something more like 1/16" would be more appropriate for mug bottoms. How thick is that stuff they sell for router mats? It would certainly handle the "non-skid" issue.

I'd be tempted to try that 2.5mm stuff that Pergo sells as underlayment, but (1) it's turquoise blue and (2) I have no idea whether it cuts ok with the laser. (Note to mention they only sell it in like 3'x50' rolls.)

[Joe Pelonio]

I have him looking for black Fun Foam. I know that cuts well and he can glue it onto the existing rubber and not have to peel it off. The rubber that came with the mugs is 1/4". Looks die cut.

[Nick Adams]

I had to do nearly the same thing not long ago with some coaster type items. The customer wanted to have a rubber bottom for non skid. I used toolbox liners I picked up at Lowes for this. They were about 1/8 inch thick and were alot like a mouse pad but without the cloth/hard plastic covering.

I believe I cut them at about 60 speed and 45 power@ 3200hz on my Epilog 32ex 75W machine. If I had them to do Over I would have cut dies for our old timer pres and die cut them.

[Joe Pelonio]

Nick,

Were those liners black, and were they slippery or "non-skid"? Might try it, have a Lowe's right across the street from the shop.

[Bruce Page]

Joe, as a last resort, you could look into having someone with a water-jet cut them for you. I had some 1/4" neoprene disks cut out several years ago and as I recall, the cost was reasonable.

Just an idea..

[Nick Adams]

Black non skid type. A lot like the bottom of a mouse pad. and smoth top. used to keep toolboxes from rattling, things from sliding and to protect the toolbox.

But who says you have to use them in a toolbox ? :D

[J Porter]

Personally, I wouldn't stink up my laser cutting that much rubber.

I'd take a piece of pipe, sharpen the edges, fit it to a drill press and cut away. I've even up multiple layers at one using such a home-made tool.

~Joe

[Joe Pelonio]

These are pretty big for the home made die cut. The outside diameter is
over 4", these are big metal mugs that are much larger on the bottom.
Noe of the Lowe's around here have the tool box liners. We did manage to find neoprene that is exactly what goes on the bottom of mouse pads and
it comes self adhesive. Cuts really nice at low power, stinky though. And not all that cheap but the cup supplier is paying for this because the foam on the bottom wasn't thick enough to go past the metal edge, so the metal was hitting the table, not the rubber. Thanks for the suggestions, looks like this will work.

[Linda Forte]

Joe,

Can you tell me where you found the neoprene? I'd like to use it for the bottom of mousepads that I am making.

Thanks!

[Joe Pelonio]

My wholesale cutomer got it at Gardico in Seattle. I'm sure there are places local to you, try googling neoprene sheet or maybe mousepad supplies.

http://www.gardico.com/foam_sponge.html

[Linda Forte]

Thanks for the feedback Joe. I'm checking for some local sources.

--Linda