cutting non slip deck strips

[NormanAlbert]

Hi One and all: Has anyone cut non skid self sticky tape with a cnc? A boat busyness has asked me if I could rout out words out of this material. What bit would be best? The granuals feel somewhat abrasive. They used to have someone do it for them but they are out of busyness.

[highpockets]

I wouldn't use a drag knife. I would assume with the very sticky backing you're going to go through a bunch of blades. Might try a little WD40 on the blade from time to time to reduce friction.
Here's a good drag knife that should work https://donektools.com/ and the blades are easy to come by.

[Adrian]

I use a lot of that stuff on race cars for pedals and heel boxes. It's hard to cut with just a knife, I always use scissors. I can't imagine cutting it on a CNC machine. Perhaps with a laser but some of the cheaper varieties are bonded to paper rather than film.

[FixitMike]

If I were going to use a machine to cut out a sign, the first thing I would do would be to mirror the image so I could cut from the back side and avoid the granules. Probably try a laser, with lots of fume extraction.

You might try to contact the people who previously did the work and find out how they did it.

[NormanAlbert]

Thanks for all the thoughts. I like the idea of reverse side cutting, going to have to give that a try. Nobody at the old company to ask how they did it. The boat shop feeds me a lot of work so I'd hate to disappoint them. I seem to be the go to guy when nobody else wants to do it. That's okay, keeps my mind sharp. I've always said that there was nothing I can't do, just stuff I haven't tried yet.

[gkas]

With the CNC, I would start with CHEAP bits. Something you consider throwaway. As said, I would reverse the image and cut from the backside. Are you cutting a single layer? I would put the material between a sandwich of 1/8" or 1/4" plywood. DOC would be to the bottom layer of wood. You need samples to test cut.

If you're lasering it, you can cut 1 layer at a time. You may not have to to cut through the entire thickness, if the 'top' breaks off. Plus, you would only need to clamp it if it curls.

[NormanAlbert]

Well guys: After more research I have found out that a laser is what is needed and cut from the back side. I guess I have to pass on this one, don't have a laser.