Cutting plexi

DCFan2004 · Post by **DCFan2004** » Wed Jul 07, 2004 9:59 pm

I need a good, efficient way to cut plexi glass or the type of dremmel tool tip that i should use.

Synlor · Post by **Synlor** » Wed Jul 07, 2004 11:29 pm

I just used a regular cut off wheel to cut plexi.. though it cuts it very quickly, so you gotta be quickly... and it does make somewhat of a mess of the edge of the plastic. So I suggest cuttin ga little bigger than necessary, and use a sanding bit to bring it down to the size you want. The sanding drum will clean up the edge a bit.

Disheveled DrFreeze · Post by **Disheveled DrFreeze** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 1:15 am

yup, thats the best way, you can also get a stanley knife and keep grinding it trough the same cut untill you reach helf depth, and then break it along a table edge or something (only good for straight edges, and hard long work)

DCFan2004 · Post by **DCFan2004** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 4:08 pm

only problem is i have to cut a round edge so how effective would the cutting wheel be?

sixteen-bit · Post by **sixteen-bit** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 6:05 pm

There is an official dremel accessory for this; It is essentially a small routing bit with a "stand" of sorts you screw onto the front of the dremel. You drill in to make a pilot hole, place the stand face down onto the plexi and cut away!

Sorry, I don't remember the official name or part number.

Synlor · Post by **Synlor** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 10:26 pm

DCFan2004 wrote:only problem is i have to cut a round edge so how effective would the cutting wheel be?

That should still work... just make sort of a "blocky" circle around what you need and sand it down, the sanding can handle the curve if you use a smaller drum.... or you could just find the bit 16-bit was talking about (ha ha... bit 16-bit

wooo anyways....). Either way it should work.

Oh ya, while you are posting in here, get on aim soon duck, I need to ask you some things.... bith....

FETUS · Post by **FETUS** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 10:52 pm

http://www.dremel.com/productdisplay/di ... lor=cc0000
this is what I use for plastic put it on a mid rpm and there won't be too much melting

Alexvrb · Post by **Alexvrb** » Fri Jul 09, 2004 3:23 am

Some of the higher end plexi is a PITA to work with, but I've only used that stuff for window replacement.

DCFan2004 · Post by **DCFan2004** » Fri Jul 09, 2004 9:21 am

yeah i've found that out myself. What I did was cut two dime size holes on the front side of the system next to where the controller port is. My intention is to fill the two holes with pieces of plexi and mount LEDs behind the windows. I think my biggest mistake with all of this is is that i bought the top end plexi at Home Depot so its a bit stronger than the usual piece.

hearld500 · Post by **hearld500** » Fri Jul 09, 2004 8:19 pm

When I cut plastic, I use a big motor, the I beleive was out of a hair drier. The friction from the shaft heats the plastic fast and just kind of burns off. It leaves a perfect edge and is very controlable. You may want to look into it.
I beleive it's the same type as the "johnson" motors.

http://www.allelectronics.com

mariobro · Post by **mariobro** » Sun Jul 11, 2004 1:13 am

There are special blades made just for cutting plexiglass. They look like a blunt razor blade. You have to score the plexiglass sheet several times with it, until you make a groove. Then, you "snap" off both parts, and you get your cut. It's a bit like cutting glass.

But, for round cuts, the best way to do it would be with a manual jigsaw. You draw you edge on the plexi sheet, and you follow it with the jigsaw. It works great.

Motor tools will just cause a lot of expensive mistakes. A manual jigsaw has a huge degree of control. Once you get your cut, you can sand down the edges, and polish them with car wax, to get a "laser-cut" look. It really works. I once made a subwoofer grille with this method, and people tought I had it cut with a laser.

riva16 · Post by **riva16** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 2:00 pm

Where can you buy plexi, and how thin can it be bought...? thanks!

DCFan2004 · Post by **DCFan2004** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 4:47 pm

I bought mine at Home Depot and the thinnest i found was 1/8" thick

Alexvrb · Post by **Alexvrb** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 11:34 pm

US Plastic Corp has all KINDS of awesome plastic/vinyl/whatever polymer products. They've got different styles and grades of totally clear (see-through) CD cases, which I've used to replace broken Dreamcast cases. They even have precut acrylic circles and stuff, and they go down to 1/16th inch for some of their sheets.