We offer several size pins and it’s important to use the correct size. Too small and the pin won’t sit snug in the honeycomb and your material will not be held securely. Too big and you’ll not be able to use them at all!
Here are the steps to follow to make sure you order the right size:
- Download our Pin Sizing Tool as an SVG file and cut on your laser. You should use 1/8″ or thinner material.
Here I’m using 10-3 size pins for my OMTech 80W to cut some 1/8″ plywood. This is perfect material for the Pin Sizing Tool.
When using the pins, there’s never doubt whether the material cut all the way through – it just drops out!
2. If you need to, don’t be afraid to cut the tool shorter, especially if you need a thicker pin and it won’t fit into your honeycomb without hitting the base bed.
3. Find a nicely shaped honeycomb cell – try to find one that is not distorted and has symmetry to it.
4. Drop the Pin Sizing Tool into the honeycomb cell.
When the pin stops because it hits the honeycomb, stop, don’t try to push it in further.
5. Now try rotating the pin a quarter turn, and you should be able to push it in some more.
Here I’ve flipped the camera to show from what is now the side, but from here I can push the Pin Sizing Tool in further. It might push the metal sides away from each other a little.
6. Push it about half way through the next size. This should be nice and tight. It may even ‘splay’ the metal of the honeycomb a little – that’s OK! It means we’ll get a nice tight fit.
7. Now see if you can then turn it back so it’s again at the narrow part of the cell.
If you can – perfect, that’s the size pin you’ll need.
I’ve turned my Pin Sizing Tool back to face me and it’s nice and tight in that honeycomb cell. I’m at the 10 sizing mark, which is correct – the size 10 pins fit my OMTech laser perfectly.
That’s all there is to it!
If you find that you just can’t get a good fit, contact us with your measurements, and we’ll see if we can create you a pin to fit.