How do they cut foam at home? Wire for cutting polystyrene. Facade foam

Polyfoam is a heat-insulating material widely used in individual construction. It is sold by canvases, so it is often necessary to cut off the desired length. Anyone who has encountered such materials understands that it is difficult to make this quality with standard tools. How to cut foam at home? Let's consider further.

What is a styrofoam?

The full name of the material is expanded polystyrene. This kind of thermal insulation refers to the foam (cellular) plastic gas-filled masses. If you look at this material, you can see a lot of small balls, fastened together. Therefore, during normal cutting, a large amount of small debris is formed, and the cut itself turns out to be uneven. What does the foam cut? The question is interesting and relevant.

Kinds

There are two main options for density:

• Soft . Such formations have a porous structure. When cutting, they crumble badly, break.
• Solid . This material can be easily processed. Minimally crumbles, the cuts are more even.

It is worth noting that the first option is cheaper than the second.

Applications

For the most part this material is used as a heater. And it is used for external and internal works. With the help of styrofoam many designers create interesting compositions; It is also used for the production of ceiling tiles, skirting boards, cornices, stucco moldings and other. This field of application is associated with several main advantages of the material:

• Ecological compatibility;
• a light weight;
• Low price.

All these spheres are directly related to the question: "What is the cutting of foam plastic?".

Knife

You can take the usual clerical tool. And execute a cut. In this case, the process will be accompanied by a creak, a large amount of debris, the edges can be dyed. This option is suitable for a small amount of trimming and thin sheets. In this case, you will often need to replace the blade. To process cloths is on an even solid surface. To make the greatest possible smooth edges, you should mark out the material and apply a flat bar to the line, pressing it with your hand. The knife must be kept flat, the guide will serve as an emphasis for the tool. Plus, pressing it can prevent strong debris formation. This is one of the most common answers to the question about what the foam is cutting.

Hacksaw for metal

This kind of tool will cut sheets of any width, but the performance will be small. Garbage and scratches will also accompany the whole process. The edges will crumble. This method is suitable for a small number of cuts. The work should be done on the table. The cutting part is shifted from the supporting structure so that it can be operated with a hacksaw.

The electrotool

How to cut polystyrene at home with power tools?

At high volumes of use of expanded polystyrene this is a topical issue. Consider what equipment you can use:

• Electric jigsaw . It seems that the process is partially automated, the speed of work will increase. But the quality of cuts will be low. Again there will be a creak, garbage. It should be understood that plates with a thickness of more than 80 mm are unlikely to be cut with such a tool.
• The Bulgarian . Also speed up the cutting process. But at the same time the dust will scatter in all directions, moreover, there is a strong noise from the work of the instrument. If you still selected the Bulgarian for cutting, then the circle is better to buy a diamond with a minimum thickness, this will help raise the quality of the cut.

Separately, it is worth considering such a tool as a soldering iron.

Figured cutting of foam plastic

Often, designers use expanded polystyrene to create any decors. What is the cutting of foam at the same time? In such cases, figured cutting of good quality foam is required. The edges must be flat, do not crumble. A usual soldering iron is used for these options. To achieve maximum effect, the tool tip is flattened or a nozzle of the required size and shape is made. The heated soldering iron allows you to perform high-quality smooth cutting, which is necessary for decors. Another important point: when working, there will be practically no small rubbish.

Facade foam

This material can be produced in several variations:

• Pressed;
• Slurry unpressed;
• Suspension self-extinguishing;
• Extruded polystyrene foam.

The thickness of panels for facade insulation is from 70 to 150 mm. It should be understood that such work is accompanied by a large number of cuts. Therefore, the previously listed methods of cutting foam plastic will not be very relevant.

Thermal cutting with a knife

For this method, you need to think about heating the instrument. Open fire or heating equipment may be used. The knife itself must be well sharpened. It is necessary to stock up the guide with a flat cutting bar. It is best to produce work on the street. This will not allow the accumulation of harmful odors, negatively affecting health. The marking of the cutting line is made, the guide strip is applied, the cut with a heated knife is applied. This method allows you to do it quickly and efficiently.

Nichrome wire

As already noted earlier, cutting is best done under the influence of temperature. Facade foam is no exception. The Russian person always differed sharpness, which helped to come up with equipment for manual cutting. Required:

• Desktop;
• Transformer, converting 220V into 12 or 24V;
• Nichrome wire;
• Adjustable rheostat;
• Wires.

Wire for cutting foam is fixed across the table with a clearance for the required size. Connect wires, rheostat, transformer. When heated, the wire will easily make a qualitative cut. The material should be fed without much pressure, and the heating temperature of the wire is also important. Too high can form an influx.

This tool is used by designers in their work. Wire allows you to make a number of curly cuts.

Security measures

Why it is better for this device to take a transformer for 12 or 24V. By accident, you can get an electric shock. With such parameters it will be just a burn, whereas at 220 V the situation can end badly. Another important point: under the influence of heat treatment, polystyrene emits harmful substances, therefore it is required to use personal respiratory protective equipment - a respirator. Polyfoam has received a wide range of applications due to its unique properties. Lightweight material and high thermal insulation properties allow it to be used for large-scale insulation of facades, floors, roofs. Such work does not exert a significant burden on the foundation, and this is a very important factor that allows you to save on strengthening the base. Application in the design developments of this material again depends on the ease of the received designs, ecological compatibility and the ability to carry out any products.

But in any field, the cutting of material remains important. On how quickly and qualitatively it is performed, the deadline for completion of work and the final result depends. Which option to choose is decided individually for each specific case.