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Acquiring & Cutting 8 mil polyurethane film for automotive stone guard ?

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This is a one time shot for my own vehicle. Have intentions of purchasing a 12" X 72" piece of 3M 8 mil film off of Amazon to create some much needed rocker panel stone guards if I can ascertain the Copam will indeed cut this material in one pass with no issues?

Then again I am also open to suggestions of other brand(s) easily available for a one time low volume purchase that might function as well for less?

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I have never tried cutting any material that thick with my Copam, but you shouldn't have any trouble, the Copams have up to 500 grams of force which should be more than enough. You will

probably need a 60 degree blade to cut anything that thick. You can do a test cut with say 3 or even 4 layers of regular vinyl to see how well it will cut thru.

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Wouldnt you want a shallower blade angle for thicker material? I thought you wanted 30 or 45 degree blades for something like this.

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Copam isn't on this list but 8 Mil shouldn't be any problem. Most cutters have the ability to cut at least a 30 Mil thick material. It's strange that the Graphtec CE cutters only say 10 Mil.

Vinyl Cutter Comparrison.pdf

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Wouldnt you want a shallower blade angle for thicker material? I thought you wanted 30 or 45 degree blades for something like this.

Nope

Rationale for blades of different angles

The primary rationale for blades of different angles is cutting depth. A lower angle (45 degree) is great for thin materials, while a steeper angle (60 degrees) has a more vertical cutting orientation that penetrates deeper.

An increased amount of blade dragging through the material when cutting fine detail can cause, what they call, vinyl ears (parts lifted up). With minimal blade in the material, a 60 degree blade tends to cause fewer, if any, vinyl ears.

Using a 60 degree blade on everyday cutting is a waste of a blade, technically speaking. Less of the blade's cutting area is used, and blade life is wasted. The more horizontal cutting orientation of the 45 degree blade accurately distributes the cutting task over a larger blade area, and thus last longer (and is cheaper). So use a 45 degree blade always, unless a 60 degree blade is needed for thick or more custom types of cutting, if 45 degrees blades are not available

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Did you get that from somewhere?

I thought you wouldnt want the sharp pointed blade for thick vinyl but Im probably wrong. If you could post the link to that reading Id like to learn some things.

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blade_angle.jpg

Rationale for blades of different angles

The primary rationale for blades of different angles is cutting depth. A lower angle (45 degree) is great for thin materials, while a steeper angle (60 degrees) has a more vertical cutting orientation that penetrates deeper. An increased amount of blade dragging through the material when cutting fine detail can cause, what they call, vinyl ears (parts lifted up). With minimal blade in the material, a 60 degree blade tends to cause fewer, if any, vinyl ears.

Using a 60 degree blade on everyday cutting is a waste of a blade, technically speaking. Less of the blade's cutting area is used, and blade life is wasted. The more horizontal cutting orientation of the 45 degree blade accurately distributes the cutting task over a larger blade area, and thus last longer (and is cheaper). So use a 45 degree blade always, unless a 60 degree blade is needed for thick or more custom types of cutting, if 45 degrees blades are not available

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