Cut Holes In Acrylic Sheet

Plexiglass sometimes called transparent thermoplastic acrylic lucite and perspex is a polymer that is often used as an alternative to glass.

Cut holes in acrylic sheet.

Acrylic and perspex can be used in a number of ways from bath and basin splashbacks to in a thicker form shelves. It can be molded into almost any shape from its liquid state but it is most often encountered for project use in 1 16 inch to 3 4 inch thick sheets. How to cut acrylic or perspex. Valued for being shatter resistant plexiglass is used on construction.

Standard metal drill bits will work but without extensive modification the metal drill bit will crack and chip the brittle acrylic sheet. Drilling holes in acrylic requires the use of a drill bit specially designed for use with plastics. Follow these instructions to cut a circle in a sheet of plexiglass. When cutting the acrylic sheet you should try to avoid touching this coating as much as possible to retain the original outlook of the surface.

A brief shop tip on how to drill clean holes in acrylic and other plastics. Brand names include lucite vitroflex perspex acrylex and many others. Acrylic sheets can be machined with most shop tools. Using solvent based glues on laser cut extruded acrylic can cause cracking due to the internal stresses from temperature differences in the acrylic.

Clamp down the straight edge on the cut line. Cutting acrylic is a simple process but whichever method you use you need a saw with fine teeth. To guard against cracking place the acrylic on a flat sheet of glass in a shop oven not the one in your kitchen at about 180ºf 82ºc for about 1 hour per mm thickness then let them air cool. How to drill plexiglass.

How to cut acrylic by hand. Thicknesses of acrylic and perspex vary from 1 5mm to over 25mm. Cutting acrylic by hand is the easiest way to go for a beginner who isn t familiar with power tools.