New to Cutting Acrylic

X-Carve
1

When cutting 1/8 inch thick acrylic, what are good machine settings?
Router RPM, Cut speed, depth of cut, etc.
Also, what is the tape and ca glue method of hold down?

2

For acrylic…

  1. Cast acrylic is best for milling.
  2. Single O-Flute upcut bits are fantastic.
  3. Router setting of 1 should be perfectly fine.
  4. Each machine can have slightly different settings, but you want to go fast and shallow for the most part.

These are the settings I used on parts of a bird feeder, but it was a while ago.
image

Super-glue and tape method…
Super Glue Fixturing for CNC Machining! - NYC CNC.

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Brandon R. Parker

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3

@ArtWagg ,
A lot depends on what size bit you are going to use, a few days ago I cut 1/2 inch thick acrylic, using a 1/4" 2 flute upcut bit at 3000 mm/min and my router speed set at 3.Got the results I wanted. with a 1/8" bit probably 2000 mm/min and about speed three.
There are any number of youtube vids about using CA glue with tape, have never tried it with plastic only wood, I suspect you have to be careful not to get any glue on the plastic, if you get a little on wood you can pare it off with a sharp chisel or sand it off. The key to carving any new material is to listen to the router and to the bit as it cuts. If the router (spindle) is bogging down either reduce feed speed or cut depth, and if the bit is squealing try raising or lowering the spindle speed until you are happy with the sound.

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4

Thank you

5

@ArtWagg, Machinists deburring tools are really great for cleaning up the edges of your work after some chips melt themselves back on to the piece. You can get a set of them for less than $20, and if you just use them on non ferrous metal, wood and plastic they last for years.

6

Thanks Anthony