Does anyone have a tried and true method for cutting 1/2" Cast acrylic without any melting? I’m trying to quote for a job but I’m green to plastics and have only cut UHMW. I have 1/4 and 1/8" O-flute endmills. Hoping someone has a tried and true formula for a solid DoC and FS.
I cut a lot of cast acrylic. I have only cut up to .25" but I run at 120 ipm at a lower rpm…not sure because I have a c3d trim router and I start is at #2 position whatever that is…and adjust up from there by sound. I never melt cast acrylic using those feed rates. I have learned to polish the edges with buffing compound on my drill press with a cheap will from harbor frieght.
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This is the kind of info I was hoping for, what RPM do you run and are you using a single flute endmill? Also what kind of stepdown do you use and is there any ramping in?
I use:
1/4" O-flute - 8000 RPM - 90+ IPM - 0.025" DOC - 0.125 Step
1/8" O-flute - 10000 RPM - 90+ IPM - 0.012" DOC - 0.0625 Step
Ramping helps prevent melting on the plunge. If not, use a pretty quick plunge speed.
I also clean my bits with a fine brush & tap-magic before each cut.
Dust collection also helps prevent recutting chips & melting them. If not, air assist helps clear them.
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Standard ramp angle like 20deg or something lighter?
I use a .25" ramp to the radius of my cutter, which is also my depth of cut. At 120ipm it’s pretty fast. So that’s two .0625 doc passes on .125 cast acrylic with a .125 0flute.
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Sweet, thank you very much! I will give them a quote and order a sheet double the size needed and we will see how it goes.
I am cutting a bunch of page holders in the approximate shape of an F-35 for an upcoming event. It is 1/4” cast acrylic and I am doing it on a laser. Nice clean cuts there. I am not sure if my laser would have the juice to tackle 1/2, at least not at a reasonable speed.
There were some design accuracy sacrifices for the sake of usability.
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