Anyone find a good source for ordering acrylic online in the US?
http://www.professionalplastics.com/ is where I order from. Min orders are required and shipping is kinda rough, but if you order enough it makes up for it if you dont have a place near.
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Thanks for the link, but luckily I ended up finding a plastic supplier locally that was significantly less pricy.
I’m really excited about playing with this stuff, though, and you seem to be doing quite a bit with acrylic can I pick your brain? I’ve been reading about people’s experiences here on the forum and it’s hard to tell what’s older info, (I know we’re always improving how we do stuff.)
I’m thinking of doing a multilayer project using a different color for each layer. Would you suggest cutting deeper or more shallow in this situation, where I really want clean color concentration for each layer and not a lot of bleeding?
I think I found the same listing Phil, I think the seller was Plexglass or something. It seemed awfully cheap and as I read through the ratings it seemed really unclear whether it was cast or extruded. The listing claimed cast, but so many people said it wasn’t- so I think it’s one of those places where you don’t really know what you are getting, maybe some people got cast maybe some not. These situations are really beginning to frustrate me about Amazon, there is no quality control.
At any rate I was able to find it locally and the company carries a whole bunch of plastics and seem really nice and helpful.
I’m not sure if I am reading this right, but I do allot of acrylic work as well. Mind you I haven;t done a multi layered sign yet. I’m not sure if you are thinking of doing this on one piece of glass, but you will need a separate piece of acrylic for each color, and I always do .01" depth, No need to go any deeper.
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When it comes to selecting acrylic sheets, trade names are important.
A lot of places will call any sheet of acrylic plexiglass. Plexiglas® is a brand of high quality cell cast sheet.
Perspex® offers both cast and extruded. Lucite® is high quality cell cast.
xxxxx and Lexan® are polycarbonate and not really acrylic at all. They are gummy and melt when machined.
Polycarbs are used a lot for thermoforming and signage where machining is not needed. Your home centers like the big orange box will often carry polycarb as it is lower cost. Look for a specific brand name when shopping. Often it will say something along the lines of “continuously manufactured” sheet. That means extruded.
Bottom line, yes. Cast is MUCH better. Extruded will gum up a big ball on your bit and make a huge mess. I’ve had limited success with it by using coolant and flooding the workpeice.
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Optix is Plaskolite’s acrylic. Also polycarbonate is more expensive.
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I must be thinking of another name. There is another one with a clear unmarked carrier sheet. It is particularly gummy.
I recall using a brand called Rhinocarb or similar. Does that name ring a bell? It was ballistic grade and very pricey.
Your thinking of Makrolon made by Bayer. It has a rhino graphic on the sheet. It is polycarbonate.
Yeah, I was aware it will take different sheets for each colors. I’ve seen people using different depths, but you think .01" will give a good solid color?
Thanks for the head-up, I knew there was a difference but I didn’t know as much as you and @DouglasSchafer 
For this reason I’m hesitant to buy from the Amazon listing as there was no brand mentioned. Before I order from the source I found locally, I will check the brand, but I feel pretty good about as they are plastic supplier and they know there business. The places I had called before couldn’t even tell me if what they had was cast or extruded.
Get on over to the fidget spinner challenge and get some gift cards. There is cast sheet in the Inventables shop.
lol, nice idea, but I don’t really have time for that. If I were buying it for me it wouldn’t really matter I would just go with the most convenient option, but when figuring out the costs for a potential product every dollar saved increases the profit margin.
.01 is fine. You basically just need to scratch the surface. In fact be careful not to scratch it or th scratch will light up.
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What if it’s a big scratch? Big chefs torch? 
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I arrived to the party late! lol~ Pretty much what everyone else has said already I would just repeat. I am however super happy you have a local place, as keeping it local keeps money in the area (mostly) and saves you money. Ill keep an eye out for your work
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