Hi guy,
Iv been using a Dremel to cut my cladding, but its loud and messy!
I really cant afford a sheet metal guillotine, but was wondering if anyone has had success using a office guillotine?
as I only really use 1.6mm SRBP board, and they can cut around 20 sheets of 80gsm, thought it may be an option? :-/
Score and snap it ?
Thats fine on small sheets but iv had a few issues doing that with large sheets of cladding (having to score on both sides alone is a pain....and end up with a ruff edge that needs sandimg back.
How much cutting are you doing?
For 100-200 linear inches of cutting a hacksaw goes fairly quickly.
A scroll saw works well and the blades change easily.
(* jcl *)
cutting with guillotine = blunt guillotine.
Apart from a fine toothed small circular saw mounted into a bench or something I can 't think of much better.
I have heard that you can laser cut boards with a standard (>25W) laser cutter. Presumably this is not through the copper though. Those types of laser cutters can cut through thin glass sheets but not metal.
Not a cheap option though... Just throwing it out there in case someone is interested.
Mowcius
How about a TILE CUTTER??? :o
I wouldn't have thought it would be that great as they are designed to make a score line on the top of the tile which the tile is then broken along. It wouldn't be any better than a knife and a ruler...
Mowcius
I like this one:
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=hF4&rls=org.moz...
Oh well that's nice and cheap isn't it 
I've used aviation shears and a dremel.
I've only ever used a jigsaw. It's pretty imprecise, and requires two people (at least for me), but it's quick. I just leave an extra centimeter or so around the board, and sand off the rough edges.
ive used my band saw
A good handsaw to use is a jewelers saw. It's a handy tool to have anyway.
Need to cut 100+ 3x2inch boards, so hand saws are out, think im going to have to go for something like this
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/7112908/Trail/searchtext>TILE+CUTTER.htm
But would love a table saw :-[
How exactly do those tile cutters work?
How exactly do those tile cutters work?
It has a cutting wheel, like a big glass cutter, guided by the rails and pushed by the handle you see. That scores the tile across its top surface. The handle is also a lever arrangement and moves a bar between 2 stationary bars. You put the scored tile under the 2 stationary bars and you apply pressure to the third bar aligned with the score with the handle and it snaps the tile. It works at one edge of the tile, so it would only work with very brittle materials, circuit board has a bit of give in it so it break at the end but the crack wouldn't go right across the material as it would with a tile. I suspect the cutting wheel wouldn't work too well on a relatively soft (in comparison to a tile) surface of circuit board.
Ok, thanks for satisfying my curiosity :).
Sounds like an alright method for cutting PCBs.
Harbor Freight sells a small 4" table saw, for those with cramped space:
i would get a cheap jig saw cutter or band saw - takes seconds and can be had for peanuts
i bet your local hardware store has one for under £20/$20
where ever you are
i have this one and tbh its lasted for ever - i use it 2/3 times a week on all sorts of things, even 4mm aluminium
I would be wary of using a jigsaw on small PCBs (under 8"x8" - yeah, I know it ain't metric), unless you have a way to support and clamp it while you cut it; otherwise it doesn't seem too safe.
For smaller PCBs, as well as really small and intricate cutouts, the best thing to use is scroll-saw:
...which is a machine meant for such work. Unfortunately, a good one (cast base and table) can be expensive (note: the one I posted I don't consider worth a hill of beans; it is for illustration only). It's worth finding one, though, if you can - the heavier the frame, the easier the cuts will be, plus less vibration.