Not so many people are well informed when it comes to plastics they use for their day to day use. For research purposes, understand the plastic types available, their uses and better yet some of their properties that make them perfect for use for certain projects.
Most people use Perspex and acrylic plastics for their DIY projects because it is lightweight and also budget friendly for many. This here is a guide that one can use in understanding five unique ways that they can cut to size Perspex for whichever DIY projects they are working on.
Use Hand Saw
This is one of the most considered options of cutting your Perspex and acrylic for your project. It does not need any special skills to execute however you must have the right tools to get the job done.
The tools you need are a fine tooth or smooth handsaw to mitigate chances of having serrated edges. A ruler and marker pen is also necessary to create the guide for cutting on the plastic. A clamp is lastly the last tool you must have in order to clamp the Perspex and acrylic for stability when cutting it.
Score And Break
One of the easiest ways that you can cut your Perspex and acrylic is through this technique which helps you get the desired size of plastic to work with. For it to be executed perfectly you must have a ruler for getting your measurements and a marker pen to draw the outline for cutting.
It is however an ideal method for acrylic that is not longer than 5mm. You will also need a scoring knife for this procedure to run it along the outline severally to narrow the area creating a shallow trench along the outline. You can then manually break the plastic on the weaker lines as per your wishes with pressure adjustments to avoid messing up the size you need.
Jigsaw Cutting
In order to execute the jigsaw method of cutting Perspex and acrylic, you need tools like a jigsaw, ruler and marker pen, flat work surface, and clamp and safety eyewear.
Using the ruler and the marker pen, you have to draw the outline for the size of shape you want on the acrylic. Once you are done, clamp it and begin cutting using the jigsaw. You can consider electric saws to make the process even faster as the protective eye wear prevents the moving particles from harming your eyes.
Band Saw Cutting
Bands saws are also useful instruments you can use for cutting your Perspex and acrylic. They are common options in the workshops and factory floors due to their large sizes.
For this you will only need to protect your eyes with the right eyeglasses for the workshop and a marker pen to use for drawing the outline to use for cutting directions. Choose the blade type for your band saw based on the thickness or type of plastic that you will be working on for your project.
Laser Cutting
This is the last method on this list that you can attempt to use for your Perspex and acrylic cutting. It is however only ideal for complex designs that need machine’s preciseness. The CAD program is the technology that laser cutting machines use or also a CNC router. In the case that you notice rough or jagged edges on your acrylic consider using sandpaper to smoothen the edges to your desired smoothness level.