Cutting Acrylic Sheet With A Router

How to cut acrylic by hand.

Cutting acrylic sheet with a router.

First of all use a similar rpm. For best results use another tool like. Below are 8 important guidelines. Insert the acrylic cutting bit into the router and lock it into place.

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. Place the router base onto the plexiglass. Make sure that the acrylic is held down securely.

When cutting acrylic you won t get the best result using wood cutting bits as cutting and chip removal. Adjust the length of the router bit so that it cuts completely through the thickness of the plexiglass sheet. Here a few tool options for cutting acrylic. The template is typically held to the sheet using vacuum or two sided adhesive tape.

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. Score the line in the acrylic with a plastic scoring blade. Cutting acrylic by hand is the easiest way to go for a beginner who isn t familiar with power tools. Clamp down the straight edge on the cut line.

These bits are made especially for cutting acrylic. Routers can be used to cut acrylic for both curved and straight cuts. The actual machining of acrylic on a cnc router is in many ways similar to machining polycarbonate. Once you ve fixed acrylic into place it s time to cut to the chase so to speak.

Templates can be made from plywood fiberboard or rigid plastic. Clamps may also be used to hold the template to the material and moved when necessary. All you need is a thin acrylic sheet a straight edge that is longer than your cut clamps and a scoring knife. This is the most common method and since saw blades are easy to find it s a great option for everyone.

Pull the blade towards you along the line. The majority of acrylic blanks are milled.