Cutting 10 mm acrylic

cheesy feet · Post by **cheesy feet** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 1:58 pm

I have some 10 mm acrylic which I need cutting similarly to this.
http://media.photobucket.com/image/acry ... 3_4911.jpg
What tools exactly would I need to do this? And how much should it cost if I got someone to do it?
I need the slits cut into the acrylic for a length of about 22 inches.
This is for a special aquarium system.
Cheers

Post by **ultimatehandyman** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 4:19 pm

You could do it with a router with the correct bit, but you would have to make a jig to ensure uniformity.

It could also be done on a milling machine or on a laser cutting machine. How much they would charge to do this I do not know, but you could ask your local engineering firms/ sign making firms or acrylic stockists.

Some acrylic stockists have laser machines and could cut it for you for a price.

cheesy feet · Post by **cheesy feet** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 7:25 pm

ultimatehandyman wrote:You could do it with a router with the correct bit, but you would have to make a jig to ensure uniformity.

It could also be done on a milling machine or on a laser cutting machine. How much they would charge to do this I do not know, but you could ask your local engineering firms/ sign making firms or acrylic stockists.

Some acrylic stockists have laser machines and could cut it for you for a price.

Thanks for your response.How much would a decent router cost?

Post by **ultimatehandyman** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 7:47 pm

You can get a cheap router or a more expensive one- expensive router

I have the ryobi one and although I have not used it myself yet me friend was impressed with it!

You will also need the router cutter bits as well.

big-all · Post by **big-all** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 10:40 pm

i have several routers including the ryobi 1150 its a brilliant router but treat it as a 1/4 inch router with 1/2" ability in other words it will cut a worktop but you will need to do more passes as its low power for a 1/2 inch

the rule off thumb in wood is half the shank diameter [or cutter if smaller dia]
as the depth off cut per pass so a1/4"[6.35mm] would be 3.25-3.5mm per pass and 1/2" would be 6.5-7mm per pass i would go fo the middle at 5mm per pass

there are exceptions like shaped cutters where you are moulding so you can usual shape all in one go but in general you will feel when its struggling and either reduce the feed rate or if that burns the timber reduce amount off each pass