How to cut polypropylene?

28059 Views 5 Replies 5 Participants Last post by dahollen, Dec 21, 2010

dahollen

Discussion Starter · Dec 18, 2010

I would like to use polypropylene for my battery boxes. How do you cut it? Would a circular saw and a special plastic saw blade work? I know there are plastic specific saw blades out there (such as Tenryu Plasti-Cut) but they don't say they work with polypropylene.

I can buy it pre-cut, but boy is that spendy.

Thank you!

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Woodsmith

· #2 · Dec 18, 2010

I would have thought that a metal cutting blade on a hand held jigsaw would do for thin sheets or a courser cut blade for aluminium for thicker stuff.
The main thing would be to keep the heat down with a slow blade and feed speed so as not to melt the plastic to the blade or itself after the cut.

Welcome to the forum BTW.

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dtbaker

· #3 · Dec 18, 2010 (Edited)

circular saw works great. makes a mess with tiny chips, but no worse than sawdust. If you make curved cuts w/ sabre saw, use a coarse wood blade and go slow. I found the poly pretty easy to work with... and nice because it is non-conductive and acid-proof.

If you are building boxes with it, invest in a heat welder so you can seal the seams.

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drivin98

· #4 · Dec 18, 2010 (Edited)

The poly is good for other apps as well. This guy used it to form the structural frame of his cart. Not sure what he used to cut but probably says in his video.

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Bfalken

· #5 · Dec 20, 2010

Watch out for kick back when using a circular saw or a table saw. The chips can build up and stick together somewhere in the saw and then get tossed out when they get to big. A sharp blade is a must. Too much heat and you you can weld up the same cut your making.

Bob

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dahollen

Discussion Starter · #6 · Dec 21, 2010

Thank you all for the advise. I have a fellow EV'er in town willing to lend me a hot air welder. Onward through the fog!

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How to cut polypropylene?

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