@metaltechs do we have a tool that can cut thin sheet metal? I have an aluminum sheet 610x300mm 0.5mm thick that won’t fit in the small CNC and I need to cut it down in a way that will keep it pancake flat as the white part is to be sublimated onto with the heat press, so I cant use sheers. Any suggestions?
Thanks
Dorine
Yes, with an angle grinder with cutoff wheel on top of a piece of plywood you should be able to keep it flat, let me know if you need help!
Fab! and yes please. Are you in on Saturday around 2pm?
Do I need to do an induction for that tool?
Thanks
Dorine
Yes, Its part of the welding induction…
Not sure about Saturday, but Monday for sure as we have a members’ meeting, but maybe someone else will be around before then!
Ill be in later tonight also if that helps- 10pm
Ok ill pop down today thanks 
we also now have small guillotine, but I’m not sure how flat it is
I have a mains-powered, hand-held nibbler that I picked up at Lidl… which should zip through that in a trice.
However:
a) I cannot get to The Space for a day or two - but hopefully at the Members’ Meeting.
b) I believe we need approval to use non-SLMS power tools in The Space??
c) Haven’t used it on anything that thin - it might be best to support the material underneath, either side of the cut line. It will not leave a super smooth edge though. (I’ve used it for small pieces thicker than its stated limits and it didn’t protest.)
d) I also have a fairly good hand-powered nibbler, but that can get a bit tedious.
edit:
what is that white finish? If it’s a protective adhesive film, then either nibbler might clog a bit if you don’t remove it first.
If it’s a ‘paint’ of some kind, probably ok. Proper ‘aviation snips’ (shears) leave one side of the cut flat, depending whether ‘left’ or ‘right’ version is used. Do we have any of those? (I lent mine to someone a few years ago and haven’t seen them since!).
Never knew this existed :
Thinking more about this, the white finish (if it is a film) might not be a problem.
Let me know if this might be of interest.
Id like to try it
Been looking at what people do with it on youtube!
@joeatkin2 could we have an airline to the metal workshop area? Air Nibbler looks very interesting as a free hand metal cutting option.
I’ve used a nibbler before to cut colourbond roofing (basically painted corrugated iron sheets). It works well, that said we never needed perfectly straight cuts, we always hid the cut edge under another sheet.
We will have airline to the metal area very soon. We have all the parts, pipes, and fittings. Couldn’t tell you when it’ll be operational though, hopefully soon!
Nibblers are very cool. There are pneumatic nibblers, battery powered nibblers, and drill-attached nibbler extension. I’ve seen some comparison YouTube videos on them. There are also cutter variants, too. I was pretty sure Project Farm did a video on these and it was very good as usual to see direct comparisons, but it seems to have disappeared.
In case it isn’t common knowledge: Nibblers take a bite out of the metal so you lose some material as a strip of metal usually, like a very fast die cutter. Cutters just cut without losing material, like scissors or a rolling blade.
I saw a video with someone cutting out a medium size feather out of copper. She had her nibbler in a vice and so could use both hands to guide the metal into its bit.
I did have a quick look for a version of a nibbler that could do finer more intricate work but dint see an obvious tool.
