How to cut G10-FR4 insulators

[teckersley]

Looking for suggestions on how to trim down sheets of 1MM G10 FR4 insulating sheets. I have looked all over the net and see lots of idea but curious what you guys are doing. I have lots of them to do and would like them to look halfway decent when done. I.E. straight and smooth cuts. I was curious if anyone has used a heavy duty guillotine paper cutter and whether or not it would cut it. I see some on Amazon that say heavy duty 30 sheet capacity so it likely thick enough but not sure if the blade would be a clean cut but if so, this sure would be a nice solution. Measure and but all at once.

 

[turbo6bar]

I am researching about the very same issue, except want to use 0.5mm or thinner FR4. On one forum, guys suggested using a metal shear and posted a link to this: https://www.grizzly.com/products/grizzly-12-heavy-duty-bench-shear/t27140

I found a fellow on eBay seller offering cut to size FR4 sheet, but he hasn't gotten back in touch with me on a quote.

 

[Steve_S]

I've used this material a lot, I score the sheets with an Olfa HL20 Knife and snap them carefully with a long hard edge. I hand file down the edges gets rid of the burrs and voila, very easy & simple.

 

[solartist]

Looking for suggestions on how to trim down sheets of 1MM G10 FR4 ... straight and smooth cuts. I was curious if anyone has used a heavy duty guillotine paper cutter and whether or not it would cut it. I see some on Amazon that say heavy duty 30 sheet capacity so it likely thick enough but not sure if the blade would be a clean cut but if so, this sure would be a nice solution. Measure and [cut] all at once.

Guillotine paper cutters (the kind with a long rigid blade, not a rolling circular blade) do work for cutting FR4, and have the advantage of producing a lower quantity of dangerous dust than alternatives like circular saws or band saws. They are therefore popular with electronics hobbyists for cutting PCBs.

There are so many paper cutters on the market that it's hard to predict in general terms how cleanly any given cutter will cut FR4, but generally sturdy cutters (low flex) and strong, sharp blades produce the best cuts. FR4 dulls blades very fast, so look for guillotines that have removable, resharpenable blades.

I've recently wondered if tile or slate cutters (again, guillotine-style, not the ones that work like circular saws) would work well for FR4, but haven't tried it.

 

[Steve_S]

I have tile cutting tools and tried them, what a PITA !
Olfah blades are cheap and the hardened HL20's cut through it fairly well and can give a pretty deep score to snap the fglass sheet.
BTW the regular plain (shiny steel) Olfah blades "might" give you two cuts, the hardened "black" blades will last quite a bit more.

 

[B.Babs]

Looking for suggestions on how to trim down sheets of 1MM G10 FR4 insulating sheets. I have looked all over the net and see lots of idea but curious what you guys are doing. I have lots of them to do and would like them to look halfway decent when done. I.E. straight and smooth cuts. I was curious if anyone has used a heavy duty guillotine paper cutter and whether or not it would cut it. I see some on Amazon that say heavy duty 30 sheet capacity so it likely thick enough but not sure if the blade would be a clean cut but if so, this sure would be a nice solution. Measure and but all at once.

Y?ou can buy it already cut to size at 18650 battery store and it's dirt cheap..