Fletcher 3000 Glass/Plastic/Mat Cutting Machine

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Cutting machine


Description

The Fletcher 3000 Glass/Plastic/Mat cutting machine can cut glass, plastic, matboard, cardboard, and foamboard up to 1/4" in thickness. It is wall mounted, allowing easy cutting of larger materials.

Classes

  • Class requirements TBD

Specifications

MATERIAL SIZE

  • Handles materials up to 60” in height, and 1/4" in thickness.

SUPPORTED MATERIALS

  • Glass
  • Plastic
    • Plastics must be fracture sensitive to be cut on this machine. Examples of fracture sensitive plastics are Plexiglas and acrylics.
  • Matboard
  • Cardboard
  • Foamboard

MN Asset Details

File:Serialnumberplate.jpg
toolname Serial Number Plate
  • Location: Mounted on the wall next to Studio C
  • Model Number: 3000
  • Serial Number: ?
  • MN Asset Number: ?


Safety Specifics

All general MN Safety policies of course apply to use of this tool, as do safety policies for the containing shop area and safety practices prescribed in our classes and/or in detailed tool documentation, regardless of whether they're repeated here.

Glass cutting has specific safety requirements:

  • Always wear eye protection, gloves, and protective clothing when handling glass.
  • Always load glass from the left side of the machine.
  • Never allow glass to hang off of the machine supports.
  • Never use the clamp on glass.
  • Never score glass more than once.


Important Parts

  • Clamp - This machine has a clamping bar that can hold materials securely. It can be operated by a vertical lever on the machine's main carriage bar. The up position engages the clamp, and the down position disengages it.
  • Cutting Head - This is the large, black, movable assembly on the main carriage bar. It has several sub-parts and controls.'
  • Turret - The turret is a rotating assembly holding the cutting blades. It is a part of the Cutting Head. There is an adjustable screw that can be used to lock and unlock the Turret to allow selection of a particular cutting blade. This screw is on the right-side of the Turret, and can be adjusted without any tools.
  • Cutting Blades - This machine has 3 different cutting blades - The glass cutting wheel, the plastic cutting blade, and the mat cutting blade. Only one blade is in use at a time, and it is selected by rotating the turret.
  • Short Trigger - This is the shorter of the two triggers on the Cutting Head, and it controls the height of the selected cutting blade from the surface of your material. Pressing the short trigger will raise the cutting blade away from the surface of your material, and releasing it will lower the blade towards your material.
  • Long Trigger - This is the longer of the two triggers on the Cutting Head, and it controls the height of the break out wheels from the surface of your material. Pressing the long trigger will lower the break out wheels away from the surface of your material, and releasing it will raise the break out wheels away from your material.
  • Pin Detent - This is a pin that can be pushed in to lock the cutting blades in the up position. It is located on the bottom-left side of the cutting head. To lock the cutting head up, press the short trigger fully, press in the detent pin, and then release the trigger. This will lock the cutting blade in the up position, and the pin will say depressed. To release the cutting blade, press the short trigger fully -- and the pin will pop out, allowing the cutting blade to move again.

Cutting Procedures

Cutting Plastics

Cutting

  1. Rotate the turret to the plastic cutting blade and lock into position.
  2. Open the clamp and load your sheet onto the machine from the left.
  3. Close the clamp to lock your material into the machine.
  4. Press and hold the short trigger on the cutting head to raise the cutting blade away from your material.
  5. Raise the cutting head with your hand until the cutting blade is near the top edge of your material.
  6. Release the short trigger slowly until the cutting blade touches your material, as close to the top edge of your material as possible.
  7. Without pressing or holding either of the triggers, pull the cutting head downwards, scoring your material. A gouging sound is normal during this process. Pull the cutting head all the way to the bottom edge of your material.
  8. For thicker plastics (over 1/8" in thickness), you can repeat steps 4-7 to score your plastic multiple times. 1/4" thickness plastics may require 2-3 scoring passes.

Breaking Out

  1. Press and hold the short trigger on the cutting head to raise the cutting blade away from your material.
  2. Press in the pin detent to lock the cutting blade in the up position. You can now release the short trigger.
  3. Raise the cutting head to the top of your material, stopping when the break out rollers are slightly below the upper edge of your material.
  4. Press and hold the long trigger firmly until you hear the plastic snap. Hold the trigger at that position.
  5. With the long trigger still held, pull the cutting head all the way down to the bottom of your material. You will hear a snapping sound all the way down.
  6. Open the clamp to release your material.

Documentation



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