Electronics > Beginners
Cutting acrylic plastic for case? Would a dremel or drill+milling table work?
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LapTop006:

--- Quote from: cdev on November 08, 2018, 06:51:08 pm ---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.

--- End quote ---

Last time I looked deeply into their stuff the bigger things (the saw mentioned earlier, their drill press, a few others) were reasonably priced, even in Australia, although their smaller hand tools were expensive compared to alternatives.

The ones I've used have also been solidly made, and in a shared workshop have stood up better than many other tools.
cdev:
I got the little knife and Ive been fooling around with it and it works pretty well! I should have some basic acrylic device cases soon!
overlordManny:
Also don't forget that the cut edges can be sanded and flame polished if you want it perfectly clear. It puts off some nasty fumes, but it sure looks great. Use a respirator or be in a well ventilated area.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLfjdwZlON-2W2cdJAbv0zv_juwcX94K7t&time_continue=66&v=Mmd56UMHDK0
james_s:
For straight lines I usually score it with a utility knife and straight edge. For curves I find someone with a bandsaw or scroll saw. A handheld jigsaw with a fine tooth blade works too as long as it's variable speed so you don't melt the plastic.
basinstreetdesign:

--- Quote from: 6PTsocket on November 08, 2018, 09:08:35 pm ---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

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

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Yeah, I have done it this way and it works just fine as long as the score is at least a mm or two deep and the material is held in a vise at the score line and then hit/bent with good fast force along the line.

As for drilling it, a pillar drill works fine with ordinary bits.  It needs to be at the fastest speed the drill can deliver, though, and take it slowly.

It can be bent with a home-made jig made with small hinges and two pieces of plywood and a scavanged heater from a toaster-oven on a variac.  You have to play with the power and time a bit but will bend straight away on the hinge line after a short warm-up time.  Too hot and you get bubbles along the bend.  Too cold and it wont bend at all.
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