Cutting carbon/foam composite

[akcrusier]

I have a sheet of rohacell pmi foam sandwiched between two sheets of carbon fiber that I need to cut. My first thought was to use a waterjet but I am worried that the material might delaminate. Does anyone have experience cutting a material like this?

 

[Compositepro]

An abrasive waterjet should work if the sandwich is not too thick. But a diamond blade saw would be a lot cheaper and would also work unless you have curved cuts.

 

[rstupplebeen]

If you need to make an intricate cut by hand I have used standard band saw blades with the work piece resting on a pedestal. I hope this helps.

Rob Stupplebeen

 

[materialsliz]

We make similar panels and use diamond saw predominantly for straight cuts.

 

[allcomposites]

The best is to use high speed diamond saw and cut slowly otherwise it delaminates. I do not recommend water jet unless you have a proper injector (it is very easy to delaminate with common water jets).

 

[MSSandvik]

Diamond 'encrusted' (brazed diamond) stuff works the best for me to prevent de-lamination/de-bonding.

If CNC-ing you can get endmill/router versions. accuracy is not the best though.