We were asked to create a CNC machine for cutting car mats from EVA material.

EVA is the abbreviation for “ethylene vinyl acetate” – a plastic made from the combination of ethylene and vinyl acetate. This elastomeric polymer can be used to make products that are rubber-like in their softness and flexibility.

The main task was to create a simple and economical machine for cutting this material. The CNC system must be very simple and reliable. 

We implemented the machine based on a 100-watt Reci W2 laser tube and a controller for Ruida laser machines.

This controller works with .dxf vector files and allows you to import many common formats. There are plugins for working directly with Corel Draw.

The program for working with the controller is free and can be downloaded directly from the RD works website.

Working with the machine:

- The material is not attached to the machine, it is enough to place the material exactly along the x-axis.

- Set the point from which the zero point of the file will begin, in our case, the upper left corner. bring the head to the corner of the material, press the "Origin" button.

-the machine will calculate this as the zero point of reference, wherever it is on the material (this will be the upper left corner of your file)

- from a computer or laptop, you need to import cutting vectors in RD works

- Select the vectors that will be cut now and set the speed and power of the laser.

thanks to the use of a long-focus head, it is not particularly important that the material will bend in some places.

The main thing is that the material does not touch the head.

On EVA mat material, we got the following cutting parameters

laser power 65 - 70 percent and cutting speed 25 mm.sec

These are guaranteed parameters for complete cutting of the material.

But these parameters can vary depending on the quality of the material, the focus setting of the machine, the quality of the lens, the "age" of the tube co2,  and many other parameters.

Installation of the machine:

to install the machine, a large opening or a large door is not needed.

the machine is disassembled into several parts and assembled directly at the workplace customer.

no large vehicles are needed to transport the machine

a space of 2.5 meters by 2.5 meters and an air duct outlet are needed to deploy the machine.

the machine also has two flexible air exhaust ducts 30 centimeters in diameter. Gases and dust are removed through these ducts.

the machine has water cooling and a silent compressor for supplying air to the cutting area.

air supply is automatic only during the cutting process. ventilation can be turned on manually. two fairly quiet fans blow out the soot from cutting.