Cut Holes In Acrylic Sheet

Clamp down the straight edge on the cut line.

Cut holes in acrylic sheet.

A brief shop tip on how to drill clean holes in acrylic and other plastics. Plexiglass sometimes called transparent thermoplastic acrylic lucite and perspex is a polymer that is often used as an alternative to glass. All you need is a thin acrylic sheet a straight edge that is longer than your cut clamps and a scoring knife. Acrylic sheets can be machined with most shop tools.

Valued for being shatter resistant plexiglass is used on construction. How to cut acrylic by hand. A brief shop tip on how to drill clean holes in acrylic and other plastics. Cutting acrylic is a simple process but whichever method you use you need a saw with fine teeth.

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. 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. Follow these instructions to cut a circle in a sheet of plexiglass. How to drill plexiglass.

Using solvent based glues on laser cut extruded acrylic can cause cracking due to the internal stresses from temperature differences in the acrylic. Drilling holes in acrylic requires the use of a drill bit specially designed for use with plastics. 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. Cutting acrylic by hand is the easiest way to go for a beginner who isn t familiar with power tools.

Standard metal drill bits will work but without extensive modification the metal drill bit will crack and chip the brittle acrylic sheet. Thicknesses of acrylic and perspex vary from 1 5mm to over 25mm. Acrylic and perspex can be used in a number of ways from bath and basin splashbacks to in a thicker form shelves.