Routing Acrylic Sheet

Routing of acrylic has become one the most popular methods of plastic fabrication in the sign and point of purchase industries.

Routing acrylic sheet.

Freeze material for an hour before cutti. As the accuracy of cnc routers continues to improve additional gains are being made into the machine building medical devices and valve industries. Some useful tips for cutting plastic acrylic using a router or cnc machine are discussed in this video. Extruded acrylic tends to fall on the soft side of the equation while cast acrylic is hard.

Here i have used 2 mm thick acrylic sheet of size 13 inches by 10. Guideline 2 use the right bit. You will never get the best results using wood bits to cut acrylic as cutting and chip removal is key. I have selected an arrow head shaped bit for this project.

Any movement whether when measuring marking or cutting can create a situation where the end cut is not what was desired. Templates can be made from plywood fiberboard or rigid plastic. For best results you should be using an hsk tool holder or better for routing this job. Achieving premium finishes when routing acrylic.

This tool holder provides far less chatter which means smoother results. Transfer image to. Many commercially available types of routers are acceptable. The router is guided around a precut template pattern that is fastened to the acrylic sheet.

Routing premium acrylic sheet this brief gives advice for. Routing acrylic plastic can be classified as soft or hard for routing purposes. Using a tape measure or a ruler if the piece is small measure the distance of your first cut. A piece of acrylic sheet.

Acrylic has the attribute of being either soft or hard depending on the manufacturing process. Be sure to follow the manufacturers safety recommendations for equipment and materials used with. Clamps may also be used to hold the template to the material and moved when necessary. These include hand held routers table routers.

The characteristics of each classification necessitates the use of different router tooling with varying geometry. The template is typically held to the sheet using vacuum or two sided adhesive tape. This will ensure that the acrylic is fastened as solid as possible which will minimize any movement flex or vibration. Routing line art on acrylic sheet step 1.