As with all machining, there are limitations as to what can be produced, sometimes this is down to tool dimensions, material strength etc. When machining glass using a CNC the biggest limitation is usually the Vacuum Suction Cups.
These determine exactly what can be held on the machining bed by their varying size. Unfortunately as you begin to use the smaller standard size cups (90mm Diameter and 60mm Diameter), machining small pieces where only 1 or 2 of these cups can be positioned underneath the likely hood of producing an accurate high quality piece becomes unlikely.
One solution to this problem, if you are lucky enough to be producing a large volume of these pieces, would be to use custom suction cups tailored to the shape of the part you are producing.
This was a place i have found myself recently in, so i decided to get in touch with Blick Industries in America with the dimensions of what i was producing and the amount i wanted to locate on the machine at one time.
They then quoted and sent me their designs so i proceeded with the order.
Since receiving the suction cups, they had paid for themselves within their first week as now our company is the only company able to produce a part for our best customer, of which they take quantities of over 1000 a month.
for photos of the bed with the custom suction cups see the first banner image on the processing page on the following site,
Glass Processing
to find out more about Blick and their products please visit
Blick Industries
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