How to Cut Monolithic Polycarbonate

How to Cut Monolithic Polycarbonate

Today polycarbonate is a demanded material that is often used in the framework of construction / arrangement of various objects:

  • Home ownership.
  • Greenhouses with greenhouses.
  • Private households.

Any event begins with solving an urgent issue, than cutting polycarbonate at home. From the way the manipulations are correctly performed, the appearance and strength indicators of the finished structure depend on the total.

In this regard, gardeners and home owners are interested in representatives of Polygal, what a good cutting tool is needed.

Briefly about the relevance of the material.

Polycarbonate plastic is gaining popularity day by day. This is easily explained by the set of its characteristics:

  • Canvases are inexpensive
  • High strength
  • Easy processing. you can cut it without special skills
  • Aesthetic appearance

The problem is that this is a fairly innovative product on the market, so not everyone has the information to cut cellular polycarbonate at home. It is required to obtain a high-quality correct accurate cut at the output without harming the polymeric material.

The main types, what is the material in question?

Before we say how to cut polycarbonate correctly, we suggest finding out what types of building materials are on sale? This is plastic (transparent or translucent). It has not only high strength, but, when compared with glass, less weight.

There are 2 main types on sale:

  1. Monolithic is a continuous sheet, as the name implies.
  2. Cellular (they also say "cellular") polycarbonate.

It has a peculiarity: between solid layers there are hollow cells with partitions. A sheet can have a different number of rows of cells (1-3 and even more). The walls of the cells act as stiffeners. For both types, you can find a convenient way than to saw polycarbonate.

Select a tool.

angle grinder: simple, fast and convenient!

Let’s start with the simplest tools that every master has on the farm. It is quite possible to cut off polycarbonate with a traditional circular saw. It is not necessary to look for expensive models. The affordable and compact angle grinder for accurate and productive work is quite suitable.

The secret lies in installing the circle 125 on the tool. It is used to work only on metal. Then the slices will be as even as possible. It is important to pay attention to the experience of using grinders, since they have a fairly high speed. If you rarely practiced, then take polypropylene trims to train and avoid unforeseen situations.

Actual recommendation: An angle grinder is a good cutter for polycarbonate, but it is better to use angle grinders with a cover for safety. You can not take cutting wheels with the wrong diameter, both main and landing. Do not use circular saw blades!

And here is some good content on how to cut polycarbonate videos:

The knife is the head of everything.

An even simpler tool than cutting polycarbonate. the most ordinary. clerical knife! With it, you can cope with canvases of polymer plastic, even for beginners in this matter.

Consider several aspects, and everything will turn out:

  1. The tool must be of an excellent level of performance in order to cut polycarbonate effortlessly.
  2. Attention! We cut polycarbonate without haste, since the blade is sharp. In this regard, you can not only spoil the polycarbonate, but also get an unpleasant cut.

There is an aspect! Stationery knives should be considered if you have sheets of thickness 4-6 mm. It will be difficult to work with thicker ones. The knife has worked well in situations where you only need to quickly trim the edges.

Jigsaw: cuts to the conscience!

It is allowed to take a traditional jigsaw. It is often used for cutting polycarbonate sheets, but a prerequisite is the installation of a file with the smallest teeth on it. If you do not take care of this, then the carbonate is not cut, but torn.

The advantage of the tool to cut polycarbonate is that it is easy to operate, but preliminary training is not forbidden. It is ideal when you are looking for how to cut monolithic polycarbonate, cut it, realizing complex and decorative shapes, and reproduce smooth curves.

Experts recommend: if you need to cut thin sheets, it is better to fold the canvas in advance with a "bundle" of 10-12 pieces, laying a layer of cardboard on the bottom. Only after this preparation, start cutting all this “sandwich” and you will get a great result.

If the task is to cut polycarbonate in only one sheet, then there is a risk of cracking. Corrects the situation on 5 sharpened instrument. Be careful, make sure that the structure of the paintings is not disturbed in the process.

Hacksaw: nimble “hottie”.

Non-professionals and beginners often ask how to cut polycarbonate with a hacksaw due to its (hacksaw) availability. Yes you can! A primitive hand saw is also suitable. The nuance is that a person without experience can achieve the appearance of cracks along the cut lines.

Video: How to Cut Monolithic Polycarbonate


The key to success lies in the fact that the sheets are fastened as firmly as possible, eliminating any vibration and associated stress. Then the hacksaw will not fail.

Quickly cut sheets with a laser.

Speaking about how cellular polycarbonate is cut, one cannot but mention the progressive version of the laser. Of course, not everyone has such an installation, plus, a set of skills is required, but if you have a similar tool, you can safely start solving the problem.

Usually, this is the method chosen by people engaged in polycarbonate at a professional level. They know exactly how to cut and fix polycarbonate, any errors are excluded.

  • Maximum speed of manipulation. Save time and effort.
  • This option, how to cut monolithic polycarbonate at home, guarantees the absence of failures and defects.
  • Accuracy of cutting is guaranteed, as the laser “monitors” the dimensions up to 0.05 mm.
  • During sawing, sheets do not need to be fixed, which makes the task easier.

Let’s make a small remark: saying how to cut monolithic polycarbonate, we can recommend cutting materials that are practiced in metal works! Even a milling cutter is suitable than cutting polycarbonate for greenhouses.

A brief summary of the tools.

A huge plus of building material that you can even find with disabilities how to cut polycarbonate at home. Tools will be found in every garage / workshop.

Summing up the intermediate results, we summarize that for marking and further cutting, you can use these "helpers":

  1. A construction knife for polycarbonate or its "sister". clerical.
  2. Jigsaw.
  3. Grinders, specifically, angle grinders. they are popularly referred to as “angle grinders”.
  4. Hacksaw (metal only).
  5. A circular saw.

If you have access to industrial equipment, then the task of how to cut monolithic polycarbonate is simplified:

  1. Milling installations. they must have software control.
  2. Lasers

Talking about the best way to cut cell polycarbonate and, of course, monolithic, it is worth mentioning that you can not use it in any case. Otherwise, you just damage the sheet, and the work will be of unsatisfactory quality:

  • We talked about a hacksaw for metal, but its “brother” for wood does not fit in any case. The teeth are very large, so the plastic is not cut, but torn. The result is a “picture” with cracks, burrs and nicks at the edges.
  • In continuation of the conversation, how to cut cellular polycarbonate, we mention scissors (of course, construction). They are often called plastic scissors. Yes, you can take them when it comes to monolithic sheets of material that are thin. If the situation is different, then in the process of compression, deformation at the shear begins.
  • Another taboo than cutting cellular polycarbonate is a hacksaw for wood (recall that for metal. it is possible and even necessary).

Secrets of proper cutting.

The time has come to figure out how to cut cellular polycarbonate at home in steps. We offer a series of relevant applied tips and tricks from our factory.

  1. Before you start sawing polycarbonate cellular, correctly prepare the place, after removing any unnecessary foreign objects from it. It is unacceptable that there should be branches, some trimmings, even the smallest pebbles. The cleanliness of the site is the guarantee that there will be no "uninvited guests" on the canvases. accidental scratches and other defects. Ideally, pave everything with fiberboard or chipboard sheets to cut without worries and hassle. In the meantime, for fixing, we offer to see how to cut polycarbonate for greenhouses video:
  1. A marker with a fairly long ruler is a loyal assistant for those who care how to cut cellular polycarbonate at home. Step-by-step markup based on your challenges. If you need to move directly along the canvases, avoid sharp movements, put the board, walk strictly on it.
  2. Before cutting monolithic polycarbonate, on the sides of the marking made, substitute the boards again (preferably, their size is at least 4x10x102 cm). Again, boards above. only after that you can move around without the risk of damage.
  3. When solving the problem of how to cut monolithic polycarbonate at home, if the material has a shiny mirror surface (they also refer to it as “laminated”), make sure that the coating is turned up. With this development of events, put the hacksaw back to better times, since in 90% of situations, peeling of the layers begins.
  4. It is important to remember that when working with cellular plastic sheets, you can not do the markup. This is true when the incision is made along the length. In this situation, the honeycomb act as a guide.
  5. Having solved all the pressing issues of how to cut polycarbonate in home workshops, blow air through the seams. So you will well remove the accumulated dust and residual material, chips that have penetrated inside. Useful advice: paying attention to what is better to cut polycarbonate, remember safety precautions! Wear special glasses so that the eyes are protected from residual microscopic particles during activity. And here we include the good old proverb: measure 7 times. cut 1! This approach is important to save time and money.

As a summary.

There is a lot of information available on the Internet today. You can find how to cut a polycarbonate video in which all the processes are demonstrated in detail. It is important to "filter" the data, take time to study the issue. If you do not have available tools suitable for a certain type of material, it makes sense to go to the place where polycarbonate is professionally cut. In general, the better it is to cut polycarbonate for a greenhouse and other objects, you can find it quickly. It does not require special forces, skills and knowledge.

Another point is that this matter, like any other, must be approached responsibly, prepared with care. If necessary, equip the mount and so on. If everything is done correctly, given Polygal’s advice on how to cut polycarbonate at home, then you will get the expected result. separate sheets that are cut out exactly, without the slightest defects, taking into account the marking measures.

Cellular polycarbonate POLIGAL produced by the Polygal Vostok plant has passed all the checks and tests at the ORGAN ON.

Plexiglass is a common synthetic material. It is made from methacrylic acid ester. In everyday life often.

In December 2018 Polygal East plant passed all tests to confirm compliance with the requirements of the Technical Regulations "ABOUT…

Cellular polycarbonate. an effective solution for creating translucent structures Since its inception, cellular polycarbonate.

With the development of building technologies on the market, more and more practical innovations appear that allow you to completely transform the external.

Polycarbonate is used for a wide variety of purposes. From it you can make many designs, ranging from agricultural.

Polygal is the best polycarbonate for greenhouses and hotbeds. High quality polycarbonate for greenhouses makes it.

Each owner of a private house and cottage tries to equip housing with maximum comfort and coziness. When.

Building a canopy of polycarbonate near the house with your own hands is a fairly simple task for experienced builders.

Polygal Vostok factory has registered its rights to the COLIBRI trademark. Plant products in the Hummingbird line.