A new routing tool head and dust vacuum system has just added to the BW Cutters range allowing heavy duty routing on acrylics and polyurethanes as well as foamalux boards and the integrated extraction system draws away any swarf and dust.

Responding to customer demand we developed a router tool head with an integrated vacuum system to remove machine-clogging debris.

In response to repeated customer requests for an economical and compact tool head machine that would machine material edges, cut channels and grooves, and rout out holes and custom apertures in thick sheet materials such as PVC, laminated plastics and perspex, BW Cutters engineering team came up with an economical routing tool head.

One of the biggest problems with designing a router or routing tool head for a flatbed cutting machine, is the removal and disposal of the large amounts or dust and cutting debris that is produced by the high speed spinning blades of the router.

This problem caused poor reliability in previous attempts to make a CNC controlled router as the high precision drive components were often adversely affected by debris build-up in belts, tracks and on electrical components. Although scrupulous machine maintenance could mitigate this, in high production run environments, continuous cleaning greatly reduced the time that the machine was online and actively cutting. BW Cutters engineers tackled this problem in two ways.

The development of a high-efficiency vacuum manifold that is mounted precisely at the cutting point meant that almost all of the cutting debris was captured immediately it was generated. A high-pressure vacuum system also ensured that even the smallest particles were caught and removed to an off-machine filter system. The accompanying photographs show the router tool head with the vacuum manifold, mounted on our Mastercut platform. The vacuum hose can be clearly seen along with the bristle skirt to keep dust spread within the immediate area.