Acrylic Cutting and EngravingDifferences in quality in the cutting of acrylics. The worldwide boom that the advertising media industry has seen in the last 6 to 8 years has led to a renaissance of the material PMMA, also known as acrylic or plexiglass. Thanks to its advantages in comparison to glass, namely its weight and simple processing, an ever growing variation of applications is evolving. This in turn presents a challenge to the processing methods of this sensitive material.
Click on image to EnlargeAcrylic glass, if processed in the usual way, requires several machining steps if a clear, transparent surface finish is to be achieved on the cut edge. Conventional procedures, such as sawing or milling, entail a lot of problems. These start with waste in the form of acrylic chippings go on to the additional effort required for polishing or flaming involving the danger of creating rejects followed by the limitations on the inner contours and the need for one or two people who are familiar with these machining steps. For this reason such tools are now only ever used for standard cuts that need no special forms let alone filigree contours.