Clamps may also be used to hold the template to the material and moved when necessary.
Cutting acrylic sheet with a router.
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.
These bits are made especially for cutting acrylic.
Clamp down the straight edge on the cut line.
First of all use a similar rpm.
Pull the blade towards you along the line.
Below are 8 important guidelines.
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.
Cutting acrylic by hand is the easiest way to go for a beginner who isn t familiar with power tools.
The majority of acrylic blanks are milled.
Templates can be made from plywood fiberboard or rigid plastic.
Place the router base onto the plexiglass.
This is the most common method and since saw blades are easy to find it s a great option for everyone.
How to cut acrylic by hand.
All you need is a thin acrylic sheet a straight edge that is longer than your cut clamps and a scoring knife.
Adjust the length of the router bit so that it cuts completely through the thickness of the plexiglass sheet.
For best results use another tool like.
Routers can be used to cut acrylic for both curved and straight cuts.
The template is typically held to the sheet using vacuum or two sided adhesive tape.
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.
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 router is guided around a precut template pattern that is fastened to the acrylic sheet.
If it s not it can vibrate or flex ruining your cut.
When cutting acrylic you won t get the best result using wood cutting bits as cutting and chip removal.
Here a few tool options for cutting acrylic.
