Best way to Cut Acrylic?

[Ad1tya]

As the topic says..

Whats the best way to cut Acrylic?
I tried once with a Jigsaw, but managed to give the stupid thing is a crack, which rendered it completely useless. .

Whats the best way to have a great cut?

Thanks,
Ad1tya

[smartasien]

dremels work as long as u don't apply too much pressure

[pochoboy]

Dremel for sure

[Ad1tya]

Hmm, problem is getting good quality Dremels here in India.

All are cheap chinese ones, and if you happen to find a good brand genuine piece, its hellishly expensive.

Anything else but a Dremel?

[Subsider]

i use a table saw or a scroll saw . A jig saw will also work .

[Solarfall]

i use a table saw or a scroll saw . A jig saw will also work .

i would use those too.. dremel has the nasty habit of melting the acrylic while cutting but if you dont have anything else handy it will do the job..

[Remij]

If you are making straight cuts use a utility knife and a straight edge and score the acrylic 3 times and then bend it until it breaks...it will break off perfectly where you've cut and wont chip anywhere.

[jarman]

32 tooth per inch, 12", hacksaw

[DarthBeavis]

all of these guys are DEAD wrong. The best way is to use a laser cutter.

[dandragonrage]

Short of a laser, do it by hand (hacksaw, coping saw, etc). I've done it with a dremel and it can be done, but cut fast and be prepared to need to fix the edges a lot. They WILL melt.

Or if you just want a circle, say for a fan, use a holesaw.

[Stuey]

If you're cutting a straight line, use a scoring knife and snap the plastic along the score.

A dremel and jigsaw will work, but you'll need to be extremely careful and work very slowly.

[Solarfall]

all of these guys are DEAD wrong. The best way is to use a laser cutter.

LOL who has a laser cutter at home.

[michaLcoughliN]

JIgsaw sucks.. SCroll saw FTW..

[Ad1tya]

Lol. Thanks guys!

[DarthBeavis]

LOL who has a laser cutter at home.

Who says it has to be done at home? Instead of locking urself in your house go out and network.

[Navig]

Must read for plastics work.

For long straight cuts, a table saw with a plastic blade is excellent.

A jigsaw with some sort of jig or straight edge works well. Well enough for me, see my cases 1, 2, 3, and 4, enough to win me > US$3000 in prize money.

I only the dremel for short cuts, for example to start a slot for my jigsaw. It will melt the plastic, the only question is after how many seconds.

I've recently picked up a scrollsaw, and it is great for all around use.

I still get truer straights with a jigsaw and a jig, and obviously a table saw.


Also, important, learn about what sort of plastic you are using. Extruded acrylic, no matter you do, it stands a good chance of cracking. Polycarbonate, on the other hand, is extremely durable.

navig

[virtualrain]

all of these guys are DEAD wrong. The best way is to use a laser cutter.

Agreed Laser FTW! However, if he's having trouble finding a dremel... a laser cutting machine may be a bit of a challenge!

[Stuey]

Well enough for me, see my cases 1, 2, 3, and 4, enough to win me > US$3000 in prize money.

Also, important, learn about what sort of plastic you are using. Extruded acrylic, no matter you do, it stands a good chance of cracking. Polycarbonate, on the other hand, is extremely durable.

navig

At first I thought wow, how immodest, but after looking at the cases, wow. Those are very nicely done (I particularly like the 1st). Is that lubic, or t-slot acquired from elsewhere?

Also, I totally agree about the plastic types. But do they even make extruded sheet acrylic? I thought only bars were extruded, and yes they crack like hell. I've taken a unibit to them with success. Every other method I tried only results in 4 out of 5 clean holes.

[onekewlchip]

At first I thought wow, how immodest, but after looking at the cases, wow. Those are very nicely done (I particularly like the 1st). Is that lubic, or t-slot acquired from elsewhere?

Also, I totally agree about the plastic types. But do they even make extruded sheet acrylic? I thought only bars were extruded, and yes they crack like hell. I've taken a unibit to them with success. Every other method I tried only results in 4 out of 5 clean holes.

Most case manufactures use extruded acrylic - they most certainly come in sheets as does Cast Acrylic - which is better to work with in some regards, especially with etchings and cutting with jig. Polycarb is an entirely different beast that has highly toxic fumes when melted/ignited.

[fps4life]

a little trick i picked up for getting acrilic edges to a perfect edge after cuting is to get your hand on a metal ruler (must be metal) and use a draw fileing action (drag the ruler like handle bars over the acrilic) this will take away te burs ready to be buffed to a shine equivelent if not beter than the surface

[Solarfall]

Who says it has to be done at home? Instead of locking urself in your house go out and network.

yeah ok but what if like in my case the nearest laser cutting place is 100miles away.. it ill come too expensive for just for cutting job imo

[silverphoenix]

My poor man's solution was to clamp fiberboard on both sides and go slowly with a hack saw.

[Ad1tya]

Well, my Factory has a Laser Cutting Machine, but its about 2 hours from my place, and not worth going there! Lol.

I guess ill run around the Local hardware shops and find the best solution.

[whoodiestyle]

bandsaw a chopsaw im sure there is other types of saws u can use probably even a hacksaw

[strange|ife]

Short of a laser, do it by hand (hacksaw, coping saw, etc). I've done it with a dremel and it can be done, but cut fast and be prepared to need to fix the edges a lot. They WILL melt.

Or if you just want a circle, say for a fan, use a holesaw.

i second that.. holesaw all the way for fan mounts

i learned the hard way on my last case..used my dremel...godly mess.

i was able to fix it with the sanding bit. used holesaw on my current case for a blow hole, and it came out nearly perfect, took a bit longer, but looks better