Angle-Adjustable Hot Wire Foam Cutter

Angle-Adjustable Hot Wire Foam Cutter

This is a hot wire cutter for styrofoam/foam, with an adjustable cutting angle from 0° to 90° in 15° increments. The main structural parts are 3D printed, while the frame itself is built from 20x20mm aluminum square tube (hollow, 1.5mm wall thickness).

Assembly

To assemble the cutter you'll need a handful of standard screws plus two M10x100 bolts with nuts for the hinge joint.

Rails / Guides

The guide rail length is up to you, based on your needs. If you want to cut at an angle, use guides at least 50cm long (or longer). I used 30cm guides myself since I only cut at a right angle. The mounting method for the guides also depends on their shape and type — adapt as needed.

I used standard drawer slides with what appear to be linear ball bearings (two rows of metal balls) as my guide rails.

Frame size

The length of the frame's crossbars and base should be chosen based on your needs — for example, if the crossbars are 1m long, the cutter will be able to cut foam up to 1m wide, and so on.

Wire guide bearings

The V-groove bearings that guide the resistance wire are 13mm OD, 6mm thick, with a 4mm bore.

Hardware / Screw sizes

All holes are designed for M4 screws:

• Bearing mounting screws: M4x20

• Spring and wire mounting screws: M4x35

• Screws for the aluminum frame and angle brackets: M4x25

• Hinge bolts: M10x100 with nuts
  
  The aluminum profiles can be attached to the hinge parts using small universal screws or self-tapping metal screws.

Make sure to print the screw_guard parts — these insulate the screws holding the spring and wire from the metal aluminum frame.

Electrical notes

When connecting the power supply to the wire, make sure neither the spring nor the wire touches the metal frame.

The resistance wire and power supply are up to you, based on your needs. I used 0.6mm wire with an adjustable lab power supply (30V/5A).