How To Drill Thin Acrylic Sheet

Break the acrylic sheet.

How to drill thin acrylic sheet. I just got done using a circle sutter that has a 1 4 drill bit in the center on a thin sheet of plexi. If you drill a few holes in wood or aluminium first the sharp edge will be worn down a little and you can then use the drill for drilling acrylic. Using clamps to hold the sheet to the table makes the process easier. Clamp down the straight edge on the cut line.

Valued for being shatter resistant plexiglass is used on construction. The chip should break off immediately. How to cut acrylic by hand. While you are drilling through the plexiglass sheet the friction would produce intense heat and the bits would cause lots of plastic shavings around the hole especially if the sheet is thick.

Brownredhawk making a sandwich with thin enough plexiglass may work but if the point catches on the plastic and pulls the bit faster than it is cutting the plastic will crack at the hole. All you need is a thin acrylic sheet a straight edge that is longer than your cut clamps and a scoring knife. Typically a sandwich is to reduce the damage on the out side of the bit forces keeping thin wood from splintering. You can wrap your hand around one edge and use your body weight to push down.

Drilling holes in acrylic sheet. Went at a decent but cautious pace. Drilling holes in acrylic requires the use of a drill bit specially designed for use with plastics. Plexiglass also known as acrylic sheet is incredibly strong and flexible useful in a variety of household or industrial settings.

A brief shop tip on how to drill clean holes in acrylic and other plastics. Learning how to cut acrylic sheet can lead to near limitless application possibilities. Break the sheet at the scored line by pressing down on the outer edge in a quick motion. And drilled 10 holes without a problem.

Standard metal drill bits will work but without extensive modification the metal drill bit will crack and chip the brittle acrylic sheet. Fred dot u feb 7 17 at 1 08. So you can often take a break to clean the plastic shavings from the hole so you can have a more unobstructed view of the job. Learn how to cut plexiglass by hand at a c plastics.

Plexiglass sometimes called transparent thermoplastic acrylic lucite and perspex is a polymer that is often used as an alternative to glass. I clamped a board down. If this is not the case the. Held the plexi sheet down by hand.

Learn more at a c plastics. Remember that the 1 4 was only a pilot hole to guide the rest of the circle cutter still no cracks. Cutting acrylic by hand is the easiest way to go for a beginner who isn t familiar with power tools. Place the drill perpendicular to the acrylic sheet and set the drill to medium speed immediately.