Regarding heat issue with oval sign

[53hudson]

Hello, I have been cutting a Ford logo oval sign out of 16 g. First all internal cuts are made using sheet cam. In sheetcam I am aware that it is possible to use the Cut path tab under the operations menu and use minimize thermal distortion. Having done this set up and proceeding to the actual cutting there is still tension in the finished piece and therefore it will not lay flat it is cupped. Anyone have any ideas on correcting the issue? I have even tried pausing between cuts allowing the material to cool before proceeding to the next cut sitting a heavy weight which I assumed would assist in the cooling of the material.

[cuttinparts]

I am unsure how you can flatten the current one that you have, maybe someone will have a trick get it flat again.

Regarding your heating and warping I don't expect you should get any warping on a ford oval, not a lot of inside detail.

What amperage, nozzle, and speeds are you cutting this 16g with?

[certifiedinc]

Hello, I have been cutting a Ford logo oval sign out of 16 g. First all internal cuts are made using sheet cam. In sheetcam I am aware that it is possible to use the Cut path tab under the operations menu and use minimize thermal distortion. Having done this set up and proceeding to the actual cutting there is still tension in the finished piece and therefore it will not lay flat it is cupped. Anyone have any ideas on correcting the issue? I have even tried pausing between cuts allowing the material to cool before proceeding to the next cut sitting a heavy weight which I assumed would assist in the cooling of the material.

I second that. What are the details on your cut? Other than that, to flatten your existing, you could attempt to run it through a roller the opposite direction, or try and peen the material flat, but I don't think you will have much luck....check back with your speed, amperage, etc, and if all of those are in check, I would maybe address a heavier material?

[53hudson]

Hello and Thanks for the reply. I did do the peening and manage to get it flat. I did not think of using my roller which I could have done. I did make the same sign out of thicker gauge material to see if that help and yes it did almost flat just a little bend to lay perfect. Thanks for the suggestions I have some direction to go in the future. Because the design has slots close to the outside oval I believe that they are also part of the issue so I could look at changing that also next time

[53hudson]

I am using a 40 amp tip at 147 ipm but It is also a cheap chinese machine so of course probably much different than say a hypertherm which is not in the cards at this time. lol I think some of the internal stresses are coming from the additional slots that were placed close to the external oval.

[cuttinparts]

That does seem a wee bit slow. Try drawing a simple 24" long straight line and cut it while increasing your speed until you find your going too fast and it can no longer cut through then back the speed off a bit. You may need to cut a couple lines to find your sweet spot. You may find you can cut faster than 147ipm and you will likely see a reduction in dross and warping.

[certifiedinc]

I am using a 40 amp tip at 147 ipm but It is also a cheap chinese machine so of course probably much different than say a hypertherm which is not in the cards at this time. lol I think some of the internal stresses are coming from the additional slots that were placed close to the external oval.

I cut 16 ga at 150 ipm at 30 amps with a hypertherm powermax 1000 g3. Hopefully removing your additional lines is the ticket! I've found that 16 ga isn't quite a enough for most of the artistic things I cut...it works alright on big pieces, but usually carries a bit of the heat with the intricate designs...

[53hudson]

Thanks very much for the replies I will try the suggestions given.