Hot Wire

Located in the Model Shop of the ID department, the Hot Wire is used to cut Polystyrene Foam (pink or blue foam) using a vertical hot wire. It can not be used with other forms of foam.

Test how hot you need the wire to be on a scrap piece before using it on your final. If the wire is too hot, or you leave it in one place too long while cutting, it will burn the foam into hard globs that are nearly impossible to remove with out tear out. A good, clean cut will produce a lot of strings, but these are easily removed.
 * By making a template out of wood or illustration board, you can cut out an exact shape on the Hot Wire. Because the wire will not cut through the board, you can use it to trace around the shape. If doing this, make sure to keep a constant speed, and do not stop in the middle or the wire will leave uneven marks. If the template is pushed against the wire too much, the wire will bend, and give you an non-perpendicular cut.
 * It is best to over size what you are cutting out, and sand down if you need a nice finish because of the marks that the wire can leave.
 * You can also use this method if you need to cut out many of the same shapes as each cut should be the same.