i have printed out a pdf design and i want to make cutouts of the shape on foam sheets, how do i do this?

 

Hello and welcome to the forum!
I would cut out the shapes on the paper first, trace them onto the foam sheets, then either use an electric knife (if it's 2" or more) or just use scissors if it's under 2".
Use pins or thumbtacks to hold the shapes on the foam if you need to.

 

If it's open cell foam like you would use for a cushion or pillow I sometimes like to trace the pattern onto the foam with a felt tip marker. Thicker foams can squish and move a lot making it harder to keep a pattern in place.

If cutting rigid foam a sharp knife, hot wire or saw can be used. You can glue, tape or trace the template onto the foam.

 

Thanks for the replies, scissors is a good idea but I plan on creating many of these designs so I and I want to be able to do it with a shaped instrument so I can cut them out almost instantly ( something like a cookie cutter)

 

What you want is called a die. They are not great for foam, especially if it's thick.

 

OK, you didn't say that.
You would also need some sort of machine to set the die into and it won't be cheap. May be better to send them somewhere to have them done for you, if you have that many to make.

 

DIY $50 programmable laser cutter. Laser cutter, start slicing stuff for under 50 dollars

 

Definitely study up on laser safety. There is a very good reason the FDA has a low power limit set for consumer lasers. Burning yourself is the least of your worries and generally only results in a boo-boo. Handled improperly you can be blind before you know anything happened and before you felt any pain. It's especially a big problem with lasers not in the visible spectrum where you can't see the beam or back scatter.

 

the foam sheets i would be using are less than 1cm thin

 

If I used a laser would it allow me to stack multiple sheets on top of each other and cut out the shapes all at once or would I have to do one at a time?

 

Depends on the power of the laser. Though I doubt you are seriously considering building an NC controlled laser. A hot wire cutter with a template would be much simpler and less expensive if the foam can be cut by a hot wire. Or next expensive would simply be to contract the cutting out to someone that already has the equipment.

 

Yes a hot wire cutter looks good especially since I'm an amateur in relation to lasers, what are the pros and cons of each? Also I think Shadeladie left a link for a good product but someone removed the post

 

Can I build a wire cutter or how much do they cost?

 

how much is a hot wire cutter or can I build one myself? Can it cut multiple foam sheets at once?

 

Try Google or another search engine. There is a lot of information out there about hot wire cutters. First you need to find out if your material can be cut by hot wire. If so a cutter is pretty easy to make. I've got one made from a old space heater and a variable transformer bought online.