Foam cutting
equipment used in our shops
The shopping process for our foamcutter
When we started shopping for our equipment we found many EPS
foamcutter manufacturers in the world. Some companies have copied
the designs of other manufacturers and suppliers and others, while
having innovative ideas, are not manufactured to the heavy duty
requirements for long-term usage. They were designed more for looks
than for real-world durability.
Our EPS foamcutter is supplied by American Foam Cutters because it
is one of the true leaders in foam cutting technologies in the
world. AFC Group has chosen this company over all others because of
the positive response to the following issues and concerns:
Need to be able to do very precise foam cutting. Precision cutting
is less related to controlling heat on the wire, as essentially all
machines use a rheostat based design (like a light bulb dimmer
switch), but rather it is the interface with the software and the
precision control of wire movement through the controllers and
motors
Easy to use software that interfaces with AutoCAD, Corel and EPS
files with cross-platform capabilities (Windows & MAC). Additionally
being able to automatically compensate for wire burn or "kerf"
dramatically improves quality and precision of cutting
Software designed with CAD capabilities and designed by CAD users
who understand real-life requirements. (Being able to stack jobs in
order to allow unattended operation is an efficiency related feature
that most suppliers overlook)
Software that is regularly updated to reflect changes in foam
industry requirements
Your supplier should be familiar with foam cutting, finishing and
marketing (particularly in your country or geographical location) in
a variety of industries (including yours)
Manufacturer/supplier with live direct technical support available
on your time zone (not 6 or 8 hours ahead of you) or better 24 hours
per day with English speaking technicians and English user manuals
(working with broken English manuals and support is not useful in
stressful downtime situations). If you need support, make sure you
can get it, understand it and use it when you need it. When your
machine is down, it is not the time to find out you only have email
technical support
Extremely reliable and stable electronics and motion controllers to
run the foam cutter (Parts must be standard user -replaceable and
available from normal parts suppliers)
Word of caution: Stay away from propriety equipment and components
unless you know for sure you can get parts & service (at reasonable
and realistic costs) for as long as you own the equipment!
A company with a 24 hour parts turnaround service (When you are not
cutting, you are losing $500.00 net per hour on downtime!). The
parts should be user-replaceable and available from normal part
suppliers (non-proprietary).
The machinery must be built heavy duty. Although foam is
lightweight, the blocks are normally "dropped" down onto the bed.
Machinery designs that look lightweight, usually are lightweight
machines (regardless of what a manufacturer claims) and not designed
for true "production" environments.
Manufacturer that does not do any foam cutting directly or at arms
length (could be or is already your competitor). We believe that it
is professionally irresponsible for a foamcutter manufacturer to be
engaged in foam cutting (even when they claim it is for research
purposes only).
Some suppliers (Manufacturer or Dealers) have very bad reputations
(quality and support) yet they claim to have sold hundreds of
machines. Unsolicited customer references must be readily offered
and available. (If you are happy with a product, wouldn’t you would
gladly tell other people about it. We do not believe Salespeople
(they are into making sales) but rather prefer to talk with the
actual physical end-users. The number of years a manufacturer is in
business doesn’t mean anything if they’ve been producing junk for
all of those years.
IMPORTANT! Get your warranty and service details in writing
and have it reviewed by your lawyer (Make sure you can fight any
false claims or potential problems). Do not pay the whole amount
until your machine is in proper working condition and everything
that you have been promised is in place. If it doesn’t perform keep
a holdback until it does work!
A foamcutter is a very exciting piece of equipment, but it is also a
very rare and specialized piece of equipment! You are not buying
a car or forklift that is easy to sell if you don't like it or
it is not exactly what you need. A foamcutter will make you tons of
money but you must do your homework to ensure you are purchasing the
right equipment from a “Real” manufacturer. Many “wanna-be”
manufacturers produce other goods, machinery or products on the side
just to make a living. A true foamcutter supplier, should be able to
make a very good living supplying good quality machinery and
continuing to offer new machines and innovative upgrades in the
future.
Please note that we were neither paid, enticed nor received anything
by writing this article. We just wanted to share our frustrations in
finding the right equipment for our shop, since money does not grow
on trees!
Visit this website to
find out more about the foam cutter industry
Please note:
All images and text are the sole property of AFC group. To use
any of our images, text or other web components , you require
written permission from us. This requirement extends to, but is not
limited to our suppliers, customers, marketing & advertising
companies and all other commercial or private individuals! We
actively search the web, electronically, for any of our materials
that are used without permission and follow up with legal steps to
protect our copyrighted property.
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