Yes, you can through plastic with a whole host of different tools. Problem is, most of those tools were designed to cut with different materials in mind, so plastic is hardly their specialty. That’s not the case with the Wondercutter, a specialty cutting tool designed to slice through hard plastic like it’s nothing more than a block of cheese.
A powered cutting tool, the device uses a vibrating blade to rip through plastic materials without any elbow grease, allowing you to perform erstwhile laborious cutting tasks with barely any effort. Whether you’re cutting ABS, polycarbonate, acrylic, or any other type of plastic material, this thing will let you cut through it easier than most tools currently in your arsenal.
The Wondercutter has a blade similar to safety cutters, so it should be familiar to anyone who’s had to perform cutting jobs at home, work, and school. Since this thing is powered, that blade is hooked up to a motor that moves it ever so slightly at a rate of 40,000 vibrations per second. That allows the tip of the blade to constantly apply friction to whatever material it’s in contact with, enabling it to cut through erstwhile hard plastic in short order. According to the outfit, the cutter can be used continuously without danger of overheating, so you can perform cutting jobs all day without any issues.
Because you can cut using just the tip of the blade, it gives you maximum control over the way it’s positioned, making this ideal when you need to perform delicate and precise cuts. In fact, we have a feeling this will make an ideal tool for people who fabricate on 3D printers, as it should let you clean up printed objects in a very precise manner.
The catch? The Wondercutter is way larger than most cutting tools you probably work with. That’s because the device consists of a handheld cutting tool and a separate box housing the battery, with both connected together via a cable. The handheld component stores in a compartment on the box when not in use, so the whole thing can be carried as a single unit. A belt clip on the box lets you carry it around your waist, so you can be mobile while working, although you can also set it down on a table if you’re planning to stay put in one spot.
Do note, the onboard battery can power the device for up to 2.5 hours of cutting, although harder materials (such as thick ABS plastic) can cut that down to just 1.5 hours. Given that you’ll most likely using this indoors, it’s probably prudent to just keep this plugged in the entire time. Aside from plastic, the blade has also been tested to work with leather, MDF, plywood, rubber, and paper products. The tool, by the way, comes with 20 additional blades, as well as a pair of safety gloves.
A Kickstarter campaign is currently running for the Wondercutter. You can reserve a unit for pledges starting at $268.