Polyfoam is widely used in industry and in everyday life as a thermal insulation material. In addition, foam inserts are commonly used when transporting items, especially fragile ones. Recently, this material has found another application: a wide variety of elements for decorating the interior, advertising, etc. have been made from it. In addition, toys and other products can be made from foam, since it is soft and easy to cut.
It is necessary
- - Styrofoam;
- - hacksaw saw, metal string or nichrome wire;
- - jigsaw;
- - cutting machine.
Instructions
Step 1
First of all, find the right foam. The fact is that the simplest, cheapest brands of coarse-grained building polystyrene foam are poorly suited as a material for cutting: they crumble strongly, and defects (“shells”) will form during cutting. Such expanded polystyrene has a density of 10-15 kg / m3. Despite its cheapness, it is not worth purchasing. Better to spend more money, but buy high-quality, fine-grained foam that practically does not crumble during processing. The density of this material is approximately 25–35 kg / m3.
Step 2
You can cut polystyrene using different devices: a fine-toothed hacksaw, a stretched metal string, a heated nichrome wire. The first method is used very rarely and can be recommended only for initial, rough processing, because even with the most careful work, there may be "shells" and chips along the edges of the cut. Therefore, it is much better to use a string clamped in a jigsaw.
Step 3
It is very important that the string is tight. If it is not stretched well, it will almost certainly make "shells". Considering that the foam is a very soft material and the cutting resistance is very minimal, one should not be afraid that the string will burst.
Step 4
Better get a cutting machine or make one yourself. The main point of such a device is that the piece of foam is rigidly fixed, and the jigsaw moves strictly vertically, then the probability of marriage will be minimized.
Step 5
Hot nichrome wire is used mainly when it is necessary to make a complex or curved cut. There are many ways to secure the wire. As a rule, each master uses the one that is more familiar and more convenient for him. Some hobbyists fold the working area of the wire in half, forming something like the sting of a burning device, which was very popular during the Soviet era.
