Cutting Acrylic Sheet With A Router

Here a few tool options for cutting acrylic.

Cutting acrylic sheet with a router.

These bits are made especially for cutting acrylic. However there are some basic things you need to know in order to ensure success and give you a smooth finish when cutting acrylic on your stepcraft cnc system unlike wood acrylic will have a sweet spot in terms of speeds feeds and depth per pass that you want to be aware of. All you need is a thin acrylic sheet a straight edge that is longer than your cut clamps and a scoring knife. Routers can be used to cut acrylic for both curved and straight cuts.

Insert the acrylic cutting bit into the router and lock it into place. Once you ve fixed acrylic into place it s time to cut to the chase so to speak. This is the most common method and since saw blades are easy to find it s a great option for everyone. First of all use a similar rpm.

The actual machining of acrylic on a cnc router is in many ways similar to machining polycarbonate. Make sure that the acrylic is held down securely. If you don t have one of several types of power saws available to use if you have a router it is possible to cut plexiglass with it provided you have the correct blade designed to make a flush cut a variable speed router when done right will cut plexiglass the heat generated by both power saws and router bits is enough to melt some of the plastic polymer material that comprises plexiglass. Pull the blade towards you along the line.

Score the line in the acrylic with a plastic scoring blade. How to cut acrylic by hand. Using your ruler as a guide run a plastic scoring blade along the cutting line trying to make one continuous line with gentle even pressure. The template is typically held to the sheet using vacuum or two sided adhesive tape.

Templates can be made from plywood fiberboard or rigid plastic. When cutting acrylic you won t get the best result using wood cutting bits as cutting and chip removal. If it s not it can vibrate or flex ruining your cut. Clamps may also be used to hold the template to the material and moved when necessary.

Adjust the length of the router bit so that it cuts completely through the thickness of the plexiglass sheet. The majority of acrylic blanks are milled. Cutting acrylic by hand is the easiest way to go for a beginner who isn t familiar with power tools. The router is guided around a precut template pattern that is fastened to the acrylic sheet.

Cutting acrylic with your industrial cnc router step 1. For best results use another tool like.