Best Practices For Cutting/Engraving Acrylic

Acrylic is an awesome medium for C02 lasing. This article will cover the processing of acrylic.

 

Types Of Acrylic

There are 2 common variations of acrylic and while they are all chemically similar, they behave very differently from one another due to the manufacturing process:

 

Extruded Acrylic

This is what is commonly found in big box and local hardware stores. This is made by forcing the acrylic resin through a form. This type is usually masked in plastic and when etched produces very little contrast.

Cast Acrylic

This type of acrylic is not commonly found locally but it is used in aquariums so a pet or aquatics store may be worth a try. It is produced by pouring the resin in a cast and subjecting it to heat and pressure. Cast is usually masked with thin craft paper but not always. Cast is great for etching and produces remarkable contrast.

Engraving

You can vary depth with speed and power adjustments. The LightBurn Material Test File is a good way to see how settings affect depth. Using low volume air is usually best.

Edge Lit Project Engraving

When engraving you  usually only want enough power to sustain a uniform beam signature and to barely ablate the substrate for edge lit projects.

Cutting

When you cut acrylic there are a lot of factors at play besides your speed, power, focus, etc...Air assist when cutting acrylics is a fine line between a smooth, flame-polished edge and having flames and flare-ups

More Resource Links

1. Why Safety Data Sheets are Important and How to Read Them
2. Frosty Acrylic And Flashback
3. Dialing In Images On Acrylics - Case Study
   
4. LightBurn Material Test File
   
5. 3D Relief Engraving on Acrylic
   
6. Material Libraries and Safe/Unsafe Resources
   

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