Edgework
Substrate Check
A practical floor note on checking board, sheet and stock before the first cut of the day.
Every substrate cuts its own way. MDF, birch ply, ACM, foam board and plastics all react differently to tool geometry, chip load and hold-down. Substrate Check records the material details worth confirming before a cutting cell is set and a sheet goes on the bed.
Substrate Check starts before the spindle turns. The note focuses on board condition, sheet thickness, face quality and storage marks that can distort a cut result long before feed or RPM are questioned.
Material points checked at the bed
- Sheet type and nominal thickness logged
- Top face photographed for chips, swell and scuffs
- Batch mark or supplier reference noted from the pack
- Material name written as the shop calls it
A warped MDF panel, a damp birch ply sheet or ACM with a marked face can send the team toward the wrong remedy if the stock was never checked first. Read it alongside the journal entry and the relevant machine or tooling page when the cut quality discussion starts.
First-cut routine for mixed stock
Substrate Check covers the first inspection of board, sheet or other stock before cutting starts. Flatness, surface condition, thickness and storage damage should be checked early so the tool is not blamed for bad material.
Begin with what is on the rack, not what is on the drawing. Gauteng dust, Durban humidity and Cape Town winter moisture can all change how board sits overnight, especially after a late delivery or weekend storage. Substrate Check gives the operator a short material read before vacuum zones, cutter geometry and hold-down are adjusted.
Check the first sheet at the stack edge and again on the machine bed. One quick photo of the corners, face and label often explains why breakout, poor nesting or inconsistent depth appears in the first run of the morning. That record is more useful than blaming the cutter before the stock has been looked at properly.
Problems to prevent
It gives the team a material-based starting point for setup. Instead of changing tools blindly, the operator can confirm thickness variation, face damage, bow, moisture signs or film defects before feed, speed and cut direction are altered. That keeps the specification language tied to the stock actually being processed.
Use Substrate Check before widening a problem into tooling, software or operator error. Review the stock, then compare it with the matching Edgework note and any application page linked to the job. Send the cutter model and a close shot of the worn edge, and we will match the right tooling.
- Written around board, sheet and stock condition
- First sheet checked before settings are changed
Conditions that alter sheet behaviour
A pack opened at Crown Mines will not always behave like one unwrapped near the coast. Storage against a wall, strapping pressure, forklift marks, sun on a delivery vehicle and uneven acclimatisation can all show up at the cutter. Substrate Check asks for those signs early so the cut cell is set around the actual stock, not the ideal stock.
Plastics may carry protective film issues or static-held dust. Foam board can crush at the edge, ACM can show face marking, and plywood may change across the sheet if core quality is inconsistent. Inland dry air and coastal moisture each leave different clues, so the inspection has to match the material on hand.
Operated by Astros Marketing (Pty) Ltd from 2 Makro Place, Sunnyrock 1401.
What to record on the first sheet
A practical floor note on checking board, sheet and stock before the first cut of the day.
Capture supplier name if it is on the pack, nominal and measured thickness, visible damage, storage condition and which face was intended for presentation. Add any unusual smell, damp feel, edge swelling or bow while the sheet is still in front of the operator. Those notes make later decisions on tool geometry, chip load and hold-down easier to defend.
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