I have a bunch of 3/4’’ thick black cast acrylic. It’s taking up space and I’d like to do something with it to turn it into cash to upgrade my cnc. I’d like to produce items for fall craft sale season. any suggestion?
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If transparent black, I’m thinking edge lit signs or dimly lighted features on Halloween decorations?
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Where are you located ? I would be interested . I am in CT
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the material is opaque not transparent. Back lite sign is something i was thinking but i cant think of a way that 3/4’’ material would be superior to conventional sized panels. My design skills are not that great. I usually made functional objects as opposed to creative art type work.
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Hi Jim,
I’m in MIchigan. I have plenty of product. I could probably spare some to fulfill your needs.
Thanks but at that distance the shipping would probably make it no worth the time.
You can cut whatever 3d shape you want, I have not tried polishing the results.
Not necessarily superior, unless you were looking for a more subdued lighting effect.
Just a possible suggestion to use it up.
If I could think of a use I might take some off your hands. I’m in Michigan too. Algonac.
All I can think of is maybe modern furniture?
That stuff makes awesome house numbers. I have used black acrylic for that a number of times. Put it on standoffs and it looks very, very classy. There’s only 10 numbers in this world. Make an example piece and sell the numbers separately. You could even backlight them. Everyone needs numbers, and the classier they are the more you can get for them.
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If the material can be vapor smoothed or flame polished, that opens up even more opportunities.
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I would stack and glue it together and make something 3D out of it.
It’s the polishing that scares me.
What is vaper smoothing ?
Basically, using a solvent to smooth the machined surface. Here’s a pretty thorough walk through of the process for a few different materials.
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Great article and I am not going to try that. No patience.
Time to talk to a local Plastics supply house.
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I flame polished after sanding to 220 grit and it looks promising. I have to practice with it more but between sanding and a little flame kiss I think i should be able to get contours to shine nicely.
I planned n to make letters but you talked me into the numbers since there’s 10 of them. a reservation I have though is will customers pay the high cost. Even though I got a killer deal on the material I’m trying to price products based on market price for the material. This approach might not be practical or pan out but it’s the direction I’m going. There’s plenty of people making address signs but not many with a material cost of $50 per square foot. I’ll challenge the market and see what happens. Thanks for your input
Are the pieces large enough to make Oreo Cookies out of?
based on some practice pieces i did I think polishing the machined edges is doable. I still need to figure out an efficient work flow.
Yes the pieces are big enough. An oreo wall plaque might be a great idea. It’d be a shiny cookie and the complexity of the pocketed surface might pose a challenge for polishing but i think its may be worth a shot. I’ll have to do some prototypes in mdf to see what overall diameter would be proportionate to the thickness of the material. thank you for the suggestion
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I think a shiny Oreo Cookie jar top which was nicely polished to show fingertips would be a great thing to sell to parents thinking “theft deterrent”.
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I front side etch or engraved black acrylic.
Sometimes I paint the tool paths. You can let the acrylic paint dry, then use damp cloth and elbow grease to remove excess.
I have not found a suitable clear sealant that doesn’t hurt the black finish.