Electronics > Beginners
Cutting acrylic plastic for case? Would a dremel or drill+milling table work?
cdev:
Proxonn is insanely expensive and some of their tools bear a superficial resemblance I think, perhaps to Liyang, a Chinese brand. They make little saws like that.
They appear to be a huge company - at least from the variety of stuff they make they seem to be so.
KL27x:
--- Quote ---How do you get straight cuts? I have never been so good with a hand hacksaw as far as it looking good cosmetically. On wood, etc, my cuts always wander a bit.
--- End quote ---
Can be done with a hacksaw, no doubt. If you don't have a garage full of tools, you might want to take a look at a small dozuki type of hand saw. This is kinda like a western style miter saw, but cutting on the pull instead of the push.
1. thin, thin kerf, because it cuts on the pull stroke it doesn't need a thick blade to keep the blade straight. This kerf means less work.
2. it is a back saw. Meaning it has a rigid spine. Perfect for straight cuts through thin material. You can cut unlimited stock size, since there's no frame to limit the cut depth/length. Keep the angle of the cut shallow so it is self-guiding through the cut. The saw much closer to parallel to the sheet than perpendicular.
3. Fine sharp crosscut teeth leave a great finish in plastic. A hack saw or a western miter saw has set on over other tooth or whatnot. The teeth are the same shape, though, 90 degrees to the sides. The dozuki has every other tooth sharpened the other way at an angle, and is just crazy sharp and efficient.
Many hobby and craft stores sell tiny versions of this saw. I didn't know the origin or proper name until years later. On Amazon US you can search "mini dozuki" and get Amazon's choice for 15 dollars.
A tablesaw is the most efficient way to cut this size of stock (which I imagine) down, but you can't buy a good table saw, cheaply. If you want the best edge possible, it won't come off a table saw, anyway. A 2 flute endmill is the stuff of dreams. In the US, you can buy a craftsmen router and table combo for $150.00. It's not the best way to cut acrylic sheets down, but no matter how else you do it (say score and snap), you could quickly dimension and finish the edges on the router table. For larger pieces, hand router and straight edge. And you can do shaping, inside openings, slots and rails, for starters.
6PTsocket:
I don't saw or mill it at all. They sell plastic scoring knives for a few bucks. Any craft or big box store should have one. I think mine is Olfa, a good Japanese company. Just take a straight edge and make severeral deep scores and it will snap off clean as a whistle; at least as clean or cleaner than a saw blade. No melting, no plastic dust, no waste. If the edge is going to show, you can sand and polish it but you have to do that no matter how you cut it. When you snap it, do it over a square edge, right under the score line. I cut acrylic for framed pictures with no problem
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Teledog:
Ideally, a band saw is what I use.
As 6PTsocket stated, I have scored the plastic, both sides with a carbide blade, takes a while..use a taped/secured straight edge, works OK.. esp. thinner stuff.
Use a sharp edge for the final break- while clamped.
A variable speed jigsaw MAY work, if it's well clamped -close to the cut.
After that..for a straight edge, a belt sander is ideal, other than that..good old sandpaper, then finer "wet & dry" sandpaper on a glass/flat surface.
For a fine finished edge, use the wet & dry sandpaper - wetted, 120 & work to ~200-400-ish grit, then for a very nice edge finish, use plastic polish (I use Novus, good stuff - fine version works well- also works very well for your dull plastic car headlights).
To glue it, use methylene chloride, hold the edges together & apply dropwise with a ~18-20 Ga needle syringe to the very edge (careful not to slop, as it will dull any parts you don't want it on) & hold it for ~30 seconds.
Methylene chloride is available at plastics shops..and also some neon sign shops..don't need much at all- 100ml should be more than enough for a few small projects!
And keep it well sealed..it evaporates like nobody's business!
G'Luck! :-+
6PTsocket:
--- Quote from: Teledog on November 08, 2018, 09:43:20 pm ---Ideally, a band saw is what I use.
As 6PTsocket stated, I have scored the plastic, both sides with a carbide blade, takes a while..use a taped/secured straight edge, works OK.. esp. thinner stuff.
Use a sharp edge for the final break- while clamped.
A variable speed jigsaw MAY work, if it's well clamped -close to the cut.
After that..for a straight edge, a belt sander is ideal, other than that..good old sandpaper, then finer "wet & dry" sandpaper on a glass/flat surface.
For a fine finished edge, use the wet & dry sandpaper - wetted, 120 & work to ~200-400-ish grit, then for a very nice edge finish, use plastic polish (I use Novus, good stuff - fine version works well- also works very well for your dull plastic car headlights).
To glue it, use methylene chloride, hold the edges together & apply dropwise with a ~18-20 Ga needle syringe to the very edge (careful not to slop, as it will dull any parts you don't want it on) & hold it for ~30 seconds.
Methylene chloride is available at plastics shops..and also some neon sign shops..don't need much at all- 100ml should be more than enough for a few small projects!
And keep it well sealed..it evaporates like nobody's business!
G'Luck! :-+
--- End quote ---
Methylene Chloride is the active ingredient in many paint strippers. The EPA is pushing to get it banned for non commercial sale. Lowes took strippers containing methelene chloride off the shelf. I would imagine a few drops are not nearly as risky as slathering it all over a piece of furniture. They say there are a few confirmed deaths from it but who knows. I never knew what the solvent was for plastic cement. Mention of certain substances like benzine and methelene chloride always catch my eye.
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