Polyfoam is used by builders for a variety of purposes. This material exhibits high thermal insulation qualities, so they insulate building facades, floors and other objects. Also, various decorative elements are made from this material.
Polyfoam is easy to process, easy to cut. But at the same time, the material can crumble a lot. Destruction of the array is a negative phenomenon. Therefore, it is necessary to properly handle the foam. How to cut this material, you need to know before you start. At the same time, it will be possible to create not only slabs for insulation from the foam plastic array, but also decorative products. Their appearance will be neat, and the material will not be destroyed.
Styrofoam Features
Polyfoam is a lightweight material in every way. The polymer is mixed with air and foam filling components. Its structure is similar to glued balls. It is this feature that explains why we cut polystyrene rather than breaking it. Otherwise, the cutting is uneven.
In some varieties of the material, the balls of the structure hold tight, do not crumble. But quite often the polystyrene crumbles, and sometimes very strongly. Such destruction of the material is dangerous for the sheet. The fragility of the foam leads to a change in shape, a decrease in properties and functional qualities.
If you need to adjust the dimensions of the array, this operation is carried out using a special tool. In this case, the sheet will not be destroyed.
Tool types
Studying the question of how to cut polystyrene properly at home, you need to pay attention to the varieties of the tool. They are divided into mechanical and thermal. For independent cutting of the array, with small amounts of work, they prefer the first group of tools.
For home processing of polystyrene foam, novice craftsmen are advised to choose a mechanical tool. Professional installers and designers prefer thermal cutting. In this case, it will be possible to create high precision edges, to create objects of any complexity.
A thermal cutter is quite expensive. Novice craftsmen making repairs at home rarely acquire this technique. But with large volumes of work, it is simply irreplaceable. Actions with the thermal cutter are fast and high quality.
Tool manufacturing method
Considering the question of how to properly cut polystyrene so that the sheet does not crumble, you should consider in more detail the method of manufacturing the tool. It can be factory or homemade.
Professional builders are required to purchase special certified equipment. Whether it is a mechanical or thermal tool, for such purposes it is necessary to carry out work with factory-made equipment. The fact is that when creating such devices, the developers provided him with all the necessary qualities, safety and comfort as much as possible. When doing a lot of work, this is very important.
But, making repairs with their own hands, it is unprofitable to purchase special equipment. In this case, you can create it yourself. This will be a more primitive device, but it will be able to cope with the tasks assigned to it.
Mechanical cutting
First of all, you should consider the main mechanical devices with which you can cut the foam. How to cut the material depends on the abilities of the master and the amount of work. Such tools include a knife, a grinder, a saw and a jigsaw. For independent cutting of plates in the process of arranging a layer of insulation it is better to use a knife. Its blade should be medium hard. Such a tool allows you to quite qualitatively and quickly cut plates up to 8 cm thick.
Jigsaw, grinder or saw are used only for special work. Professional builders use such equipment. In this case, the tool differs in a number of parameters from conventional angle grinders, jigsaws or saws.
If a thick blade and high revolutions are used, the foam can easily be ruined. Therefore, at home, a knife with interchangeable blades is used for cutting.
Thermorezac
Achieve high precision cutting allows thermal equipment. It is acquired by professional craftsmen and designers. When carrying out a large amount of work at home, this type of equipment should also be paid attention to. In this case, we cut polystyrene with nichrome wire.
The device is powered by a system or battery. Through the elements of this technique, electricity is supplied to the nichrome thread. The metal heats up quickly and strongly. This allows you to qualitatively cut off the excess foam, cut it in any direction.
The most accurate material processing is obtained using a thermal cutter. It should be noted that the foam does not respond well to heating, but in this case, the cut is very fast. Therefore, its quality is high.
Homemade cutter
You can create a thermoset yourself. To do this, you need to assemble a set of necessary parts. First of all, you need a small transformer. You can take this part, for example, from an old TV.
In this case, you will also need to cut the foam with a nichrome string. It is pulled between two long screws. They must be fixed on a wooden plank. Such material, as you know, does not conduct current. Therefore, electricity from the transformer will only be supplied to the screws and string.
After connecting all the elements, the voltage should be adjusted. It depends on the thickness of the nichrome thread. Too much red-hot string will not allow cutting quality material.
Easy way to cut
The presented approaches make it easy to cut polystyrene foam. How to cut such material, give advice to folk craftsmen. They came up with another way. It will be quite effective, especially when cutting large sheets of foam.
This will require a thin and durable string. Its ends are tied to wooden handles. If the sheet is large, you must do the work with an assistant. In this case, 2 people become on both sides of the array. Each takes a wooden handle with a tied string. Further, according to the markup drawn in advance, they move the thread. It heats up from friction.
The material is easily and quickly cut. If the sheet is small, this procedure can be performed independently.
Professionals Recommendations
You should take into account a few tips from professional installers to handle polystyrene. Than cut it, it will be easy to choose. Experts say that each of the presented methods is suitable for cutting. It all depends on the skills of the master and the amount of work performed by him.
Before cutting, the material must be marked with a simple pencil. With a mechanical and thermal method, the foam can heat up. In this case, it releases harmful substances into the environment. Therefore, the work is carried out in the open air.
In this case, special equipment is used. Otherwise, when heated, the material will stick to the blade. A grinder or jigsaw operate at low speeds. So the heat manages to be removed from the cutting zone.
By following such recommendations, it is possible to quickly and efficiently cut polystyrene foam for any application.