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What is a minimum cuttable stroke?
Minimum cuttable stroke refers to the smallest or thinnest line/stroke that a cutting machine can cut.
This is crucial for ensuring that the details in the design are reproduced accurately and legibly. Several factors influence the minimum cuttable stroke, including:
- Material: For example, acrylic, PVC foam, and metal each have unique properties that affect how fine a detail can be cut.
- Cutting Method: Laser cutting, CNC machining, or vinyl plotters, has specific limitations. Each method has a minimum width it can accurately cut without causing the material to tear, burn, or distort.
- Design Considerations: Designers need to account for the minimum cuttable stroke when creating or editing a design to make sure that all elements are manufacturable. This includes fonts, logos, and intricate patterns.
- Material Thickness: Thicker materials might require a larger minimum stroke width due to the increased difficulty in cutting fine details.
For example, the minimum cuttable stroke is 10 millimeters. This means that any line or detail needs to be at least this wide to be cut properly. We may be able to cut thinner lines, however, it will sometimes have to be glued to the installation surface instead of connecting it to the sign. This prevents it from falling or breaking during shipment.
Here are some of the product lines with minimum cuttable stroke:
Flat Cut Acrylic Thickness
| Acrylic inch | Acrylic mm | Minimum Cuttable Stroke (mm) |
| 1/8 | 3 | 3 |
| 1/4 | 6 | 3 |
| 3/8 | 9 | 3 |
| 1/2 | 12 | 5 |
| 3/4 | 19 | 8 |
| 1 | 25 | 10 |
| 1 1/2 | 38 | 10 |
PVC Foam
| PVC Foam inch | PVC Foam mm | Minimum Cuttable Stroke (mm) |
| 1/2 | 12 | 6 |
| 3/4 | 20 | 10 |
| 1 | 25 | 12 |
| 1 1/2 | 40 | 15 |
