1. Acrylic Uses
2. Cutting Acrylic
3. Drilling Acrylic
4. Finishing Acrylic
5. Bending Acrylic
6. Forming Acrylic
7. Gluing Acrylic
Working With Acrylic
Acrylic Uses
Opaque
Acrylic
Dial
Transparent
Acrylic
Salad
Servers
Acrylic is available in both
transparent and opaque forms.
It is used for Baths, sinks and
fish tanks... from colourful
clocks to replacement
skylights...
Clear Boxes
Menu Stands
Acrylic Properties
Acrylic is classed as a Thermoplastic.
This means that it becomes soft and
mouldable on heating without undergoing
any significant chemical change. This
process can be repeated many times.
Acrylic is available in a wide range
of colours. Acrylic sheet is
supplied with a protective film
covering attached to each side.
This is to prevent the acrylic
being scratched and should be
left in place as long as possible.
Protective
covering
Bending Acrylic
on a strip heater
Letter Rack model
Cutting Acrylic
Coping Saw
Cut close to the vice
to reduce the risk
of the acrylic
cracking
While the Coping Saw
can be used to cut simple
curves in acrylic sheet it
tends to leave a coarser
finish.
Cutting Acrylic
Piercing Saw
The teeth on a Piercing
saw blade should point
backwards. This will
help prevent blade
breakages.
The Piercing Saw is used
to cut tight curves in thin
metal and acrylic sheet
Cutting Acrylic
Hacksaw
The Hacksaw can be used
to cut straight lines in
metal and plastic.
Cutting Acrylic
Junior Hacksaw
The Jnr Hacksaw can be
used to cut straight lines
in small pieces of metal
and plastic.
Cutting Acrylic
Scroll Saw
When replacing the
blade, make sure the
teeth point downward.
This helps hold the
work on the table as
you cut.
The quickest method of cutting
intricate shapes in acrylic is the
Scroll Saw. This machine is
capable of producing an excellent
finish.
Drilling Acrylic
To obtain the best results when drilling
Acrylic it is better to use a special
drill bit. Conventional high speed drill
bits do not work well with hard
plastics. They will "ride up" a
conventional drill bit and crack. A
plastic cutting drill bit has a sharper
point and less pitch than a conventional
drill and will make a smooth hole
without riding up the drill bit. Slow to
medium speeds work best when working
with acrylics.
If customised plastics drill
bits are unavailable then
conventional twist drill bits
can be used however great
care must be taken to hold
the Acrylic securely and you
must lower the drill at a slow
even rate.
Filing Acrylic
Chipped Edge
When cutting Acrylic it is easy to chip the edges. To remove these chips and
give the edge a good finish follow these steps.
Stage 1 : Use a course file to remove the worst of the chips.
Warding File
Stage 2 : Switch to a finer file and repeat the process.
Stage 3 : Hold the file at right angles to the work piece and Draw File the edge
Wet & Dry
Silicon
carbide paper
Stage 4: Finish the edge with silicon carbide paper (Make sure you remove all
file marks)
Acrylic Polish
Stage 5: Finally apply a little acrylic polish to a soft cloth and polish the edge.
Bending Acrylic
Strip Heater
The Strip Heater is used to bend
sheet acrylic. The acrylic is held
above the heating element and turned
over every 30 seconds. After 2 to 3
min the plastic will bend easily.
Remember the Strip Heater can get
very hot
Bending Acrylic
Wooden Former
To obtain more accurate results
it is often better making a
wooden former to bend the
acrylic round.
Hot Wire Strip Heater
Forming Acrylic
The oven can be used to heat a whole
sheet of acrylic to make it soft and
flexible. This soft acrylic can then be
pressed into shape in a mould. A typical
example is this acrylic windscreen shown
on the right
Oven
Forming an
Acrylic Handle
Wooden Jig
The Plastic blank must
also be finished to a
high standard. All
holes drilled and edges
polished
Smooth
finish
required
To form a plastic handle you first
need to make a Jig. Great care
must be taken to obtain a good
finish on the jig as any
imperfections will be picked up on
the acrylic.
Plastic Blank
Oven
Forming an
Acrylic Handle
Set the Oven to 160˚C
When the oven has reached the
correct temperature place the
Acrylic blank inside and heat
until it becomes soft and pliable
(Keep a close watch on the
plastic to prevent it overheating
and burning)
Wear Gloves when handling hot Acrylic
Forming an
Acrylic Handle
Shaped Acrylic Handle
Clamp the hot acrylic
blank in the jig and allow
to cool.
Vacuum Forming Acrylic
Acrylic Bath Moulds
Acrylic Sink
Vacuum
Forming
Machine
Acrylic can also be Vacuum Formed
to produce larger items like baths
and sinks. (See Focus on Plastics
for further details)
Tensol Cement
The adhesive used to stick
Acrylic to Acrylic is called
Tensol Cement.
Gluing Process
1) Roughen the two
surfaces to be glued with
Emery cloth.
2) Apply a thin layer of
glue.
3) Press two parts together
and leave for 30 min.
The End