Working with Acrylic: Tips and Techniques
Learn about acrylic, its properties, cutting techniques, and comparison with other plastics. Discover how to deal with thickness variances and cut residue when working with acrylic for laser cutting projects.
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Presentation Transcript
99-353 SolidWorks and Laser Cutting Working WithAcrylic Dave Touretzky Computer Science Carnegie Mellon University 1
What Is Acrylic? Polymer of acrylic acid: poly (methyl methacrylate) Acrylic acid poly (methyl methacrylate) Also known as Plexiglass, Lucite, Perspex... Can be either cast or extruded. Cast is better for laser cutting; extruded is easier to thermoform. 3
Thickness Variance We order 1/8 inch cast acrylic sheets. What we get: Sometimes 0.125 inch sheets. Sometimes 0.118 inch (3 mm) sheets. Thickness tolerance +0.015 to -0.025 inches. Thickness can vary: From one batch to another From one edge of a sheet to the other edge! Thickness matters for press fit. 4
CuttingAcrylic For 1/8 inch acrylic use: Speed 16 mm/sec Power level 80% For 1/4 inch acrylic use: Speed 12 mm/sec Power level 80% If the laser is having problems and not cutting all the way through the sheet (could be a dirty lens or focusing problem), reduce the speed slightly. 5
Acrylic vs. Other Plastics Acrylic is: Delrin is: Colorful Inexpensive Fragile Black or tan only More expensive Stronger ABS plastic: Black/white/tan sheets only Much stronger Catches fire in the laser cutter! 6
Cut Residue Sometimes parts are discolored due to: Smoke/ash plume from the melting plastic. Residue from the honeycomb bed re-melting and contaminating the part. Wiping with isopropanol (rubbing alcohol) can clean up the part. Acetone (nail polish remover) sometimes works better. 7
