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.

A brief shop tip on how to drill clean holes in acrylic and other plastics. How to cut acrylic or perspex. Acrylic sheets can be machined with most shop tools. Drilling holes in acrylic requires the use of a drill bit specially designed for use with plastics.

Brand names include lucite vitroflex perspex acrylex and many others. 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. Thicknesses of acrylic and perspex vary from 1 5mm to over 25mm. A brief shop tip on how to drill clean holes in acrylic and other plastics.

Using solvent based glues on laser cut extruded acrylic can cause cracking due to the internal stresses from temperature differences in the acrylic. How to drill plexiglass. 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. Standard metal drill bits will work but without extensive modification the metal drill bit will crack and chip the brittle acrylic sheet.

All you need is a thin acrylic sheet a straight edge that is longer than your cut clamps and a scoring knife. How to glue plexiglass sheets when the need arises to stick together pieces of plexiglass sheets there is an array of glue options to choose from. Acrylic and perspex can be used in a number of ways from bath and basin splashbacks to in a thicker form shelves. Valued for being shatter resistant plexiglass is used on construction.

Follow these instructions to cut a circle in a sheet of plexiglass. Clamp down the straight edge on the cut line. Cutting acrylic by hand is the easiest way to go for a beginner who isn t familiar with power tools.