Method three. circular saw or cutter for metal
Cutting plexiglass with your own hands can also be done using a circular saw or cutters for metal. If you choose a router bit, please note that its thickness should NOT be more than one millimeter. In the process of work, the cutter is very quickly triggered.
When cutting plexiglass with this method, it is necessary to take into account that a lot of smoke will be emitted, and the material will warm up rather quickly, possibly foaming at the processing site. To avoid possible consequences, you should take care of cooling the material with water in advance. Cooling can be organized as follows: take a regular bottle and fill with water, fix it near the cutter and supply water to the work surface using a plastic hose. If you use a hose with a thickness of 2.5 mm, about one liter of water will flow out during the time. Established this cooling method, you will be able to get a neat and transparent cut.
- You can build a tool to cut this material. You will need a nichrome thread. As a result of heating, it will be able to cut the plexiglass due to melting. To build such a tool, take a nichrome thread, a transformer whose power is 24 V. Connect the thread to the transformer, having previously fixed it on both sides, or by attaching a handle on one side, and hanging a weight on the other. When the filament is hot, you can cut the acrylic at the intended mowing line.
- Slotted screwdriver. It is necessary to press a screwdriver to the writing of the material, hold it by the edge of the handle. Tool blade Heat with a soldering iron. When the writing of the material begins to melt, you can cut it, move the tool with a movement of the hand. Use a metal ruler to get a straight line. After running the mowing line over the acrylic surface, it can be easily broken in the right places
Special equipment
Plexiglass products are cut with a high-speed tool. This allows you to get a smooth and high-quality seam. The speed of such equipment can be up to 4 thousand revolutions per minute. After that, the plexiglass undergoes additional mechanical processing.
However, it should be remembered that this material has a low thermal conductivity. Cutting at high speed can quickly heat up the edges. Some tools have a Plexiglas mode.
Material features
Not everyone knows what plexiglass is. How to cut it at home and what features does it have? First of all, plexiglass has the performance characteristics of durable plastic, and also looks like ordinary glass. This material is transparent. However, unlike glass, it does not break.
Thanks to these properties, plexiglass has become popular. How to cut it in everyday life? In this case, not everything is so simple. The material itself is quite durable. Plexiglass is widely used. Indeed, in some cases, using ordinary glass is dangerous and problematic. The material can be processed by almost all available methods. However, there are some nuances that should be considered when working with plexiglass.
What makes plexiglass dusty at home
Cutter
- A ruler is used to obtain an even cut. It can be made using wood. The ruler must be fixed to the work surface.
- The letter is cut by 50% in thickness, after which, with a slight movement, you can write at the bottom.
- Due to the use of a cutter, the cutting process is significantly accelerated, but the resulting cut will be of poor quality. That is why additional grinding is carried out.
Plexiglass cutter
Using simple tools
If cutting plexiglass with a laser. Is an expensive pleasure for you, then you can cut the material with materials at hand. Very often, a nichrome thread is used for such work. Before starting cutting, it must be heated. This will require a transformer with a power of 24 W.
As a result of simple manipulations, you can carefully cut the plexiglass. The heated nichrome thread can simply melt the material. This allows you not only to cut plexiglass, but also to cut curly details.
Also, some craftsmen use a slotted screwdriver. This option is suitable for cutting plexiglass at home. A screwdriver is usually pressed against the material with an end. In this case, the tool must be held by the very edge of the handle. After that, the screwdriver blade is heated with a soldering iron, the power of which is 25 W.
The plexiglass should start melting. With the tip of a screwdriver, simply draw the line in the place where the cut should be. After that, the plexiglass breaks easily. To get a straight line, you can use a metal ruler or a hacksaw blade without teeth.
In addition to the above methods, you can cut the plexiglass with a cutter or circular saw. The blade thickness in this case should be NOT more than 1 mm. It is worth considering that smoke may appear during the cutting process. In this case, the edges of the material often foam due to the increase in temperature as a result of friction. This can be avoided. It is necessary to cool the working surface of the tool.
Hacksaw for metal
A fairly common tool is a hacksaw for metal. It is simple to work with it, the steps for processing plexiglass are the same as in the case of metal or wood. Among the features of using a hacksaw for metal, we note the following points:
- Cutting lines are applied on a sheet of paper, which greatly simplify the cutting process.
- When cutting, attention is paid to the evenness of the hacksaw stroke, due to which a high-quality cut is formed.
- Dusting too quickly is not recommended due to the fact that the material can get hot. Deformation occurs in the plastic state.
The resulting cut is rough in almost all cases. That is why it is necessary to carry out additional grinding.
Cutting plexiglass at home
A hacksaw for metal is the most affordable tool for cutting plexiglass at home. The resulting cut will be rough and rough, so you need a file or File (sandpaper) to grind it. Also, at the end of cutting, the plexiglass can be polished, this process will give the details the final look.
You can also use a cutter, which, in fact, is a dust with one tooth. Before cutting the plexiglass cutter, prepare a metal ruler of the required length. The ruler is placed on a sheet of plexiglass along the mowing line of the intended cut and several times is carried out along the plexiglass with a tool.
For cutting plexiglass at home, use a circular saw or cutter for metal up to 1 mm thick. During operation, the cutter is triggered very quickly, cutting occurs with the release of smoke, and the plexiglass in the cutting zone sometimes foams from the high temperature arising from friction.
To avoid this, it is necessary to constantly cool the saw blade. To do this, you can take a bottle of water, fix it on one side of the cutter and supply water to it through a plastic hose. With a hose diameter of 2.5 mm, up to 1 liter of water is consumed per time. With this method of cooling, the cut is transparent and even.
Also for cutting, as well as for bending plexiglass, a nichrome thread is used, which heats up from a connected transformer with a power of up to 24 V. The heated thread cuts the plexiglass by melting it. This feature allows you to get Not only straight, but also curly cuts.
Some craftsmen successfully use other tools at home, sometimes very simple ones, for example, a slotted screwdriver. A screwdriver is pressed against the plexiglass letter with the butt end, holding it by the very edge of the handle. The blade of the screwdriver is heated by a 25 watt soldering iron.
When the plexiglass starts to melt slightly, a straight line of the intended cut is drawn with a screwdriver sting. To build a straight mowing line, a metal ruler, a hacksaw blade (of course, the side without teeth) or other similar tool is taken. After cutting the line with a heated screwdriver, the plexiglass breaks easily and quickly.
Production methods for cutting plexiglass
Laser cutting is the most convenient method, but impossible at home. The laser beam ensures maximum cutting precision, smooth cuts and low waste. There is a limitation in this processing method: the laser creates a high stress on the material, so further bonding of the plexiglass is NOT possible.
This service is offered by many companies, and if you stopped at this method, prepare a drawing of the product in advance and choose a competent craftsman. Often in such workshops, you can independently choose the material of the desired thickness before cutting the plexiglass.
In production conditions (sometimes in everyday life), a circular and band saw is used. The first tool is designed for a straight cut with a clear cut. A band saw is more suitable for cutting workpieces, as this tool does NOT provide a straight and smooth mowing line. To get a smooth surface, you need to use a cutter.
To obtain a high-quality and even cut, high-speed tools are used with a rotating speed of the working part of up to 4000 rpm. Plexiglass lends itself to mechanical processing, but do not forget about the low thermal conductivity of this material, which is why the cut zones quickly heat up. For this reason, processing is carried out at a high rotation speed.
Glue plexiglass to metal
Sometimes the DIYer needs to glue two dissimilar materials, such as plexiglass and metal.
In this case, you can use tools such as:
- Glue “88”;
- Dichloroethane;
- Adhesives of the Liquid Nails family;
- Instant products that indicate “suitable for bonding metal, plexiglass”.
Before gluing, the surface should be thoroughly cleaned and degreased.
Adhesive self-adhesive films
Self-adhesive tapes are a good alternative for repairing plexiglass products. Their undoubted advantage is the ability to glue both two plexiglass parts and plexiglass with other materials.
There are three main types of such films on the market:
- Baseless adhesive films. In fact, it is a thin layer of adhesive several tens of microns thick. It is stored between two transportable polyethylene films, which are removed immediately before gluing. These adhesive films can bond smooth, perfectly flat parts with low thermal expansion.
- Films with a thin transparent base, several hundredths of a millimeter thick. Also requires a smooth surface, but the requirements are slightly lower. The connection is less strong and theoretically detachable. you can try to remove the film.
- Films with a thin foamed base, similar to the so-called double-sided tape. The thickness of the base ranges from tenths to several millimeters. Plexiglass can be glued with such films, even if the surfaces are not very even, but the bond strength is very low. Suitable for structures, not under heavy loads.
The requirements for surface preparation and the maximum loads that the joint can withstand are specified in the manual enclosed with the specific film.
Plexiglass adhesive options
Speaking about popular compositions, which can be used to glue plexiglass, it is worth dwelling on the following:
- Formulations of the Acrifix family, specially designed for acrylic based materials;
- Mixtures based on dichloroethane;
- Acetic acid and its essence;
- Colacril family compounds;
- Cosmofen glue. It is also used to hold wood and plexiglass together;
- Adhesives produced by Era-Henkel Moment, Moment. seconds and others.
How to glue plexiglass
Plexiglass (or plexiglass) has long gained popularity as a durable, transparent and unbreakable material for various household items and artistic creation. If, nevertheless, a plexiglass product breaks down, this is not a disaster, there are many compounds with which it can be glued.
The better to glue plexiglass
Both for repairing broken parts and for assembling new products, you should use a suitable adhesive.
Seconds glue moment and Cosmofen
Most instant adhesives are cyanoacrylate based. Regardless of the type of packaging. in metal, plastic tubes or bottles with a narrow spout for application. they are very similar in their properties.
General property. they DO NOT dissolve plexiglass, but create an intermediate adhesive layer.
Therefore, experts do NOT recommend using them for joints subject to any stress. The maximum that they can do is Grab a small piece to a toy or decoration.
The adhesive layer is opaque, the junction is very noticeable.
Dangerous! “Moment” can glue the skin of your fingers so that you have to see a doctor. Always use protective gloves.
DIY plexiglass glue
To make Plexiglass adhesive, you will need a strong organic solvent and plexiglass shavings or sawdust. Small pieces that fit in a bottle can also be used.
As a component of the glue used:
- Acetone;
- Dichloroethane;
- Solution of polymethyl methacrylate in dichloroethane.
Add crushed plexiglass in small portions to the solvent bottle, stirring constantly with a wire loop or glass rod. The amount of plexiglass is established empirically Based on the required consistency.
Another recipe for preparing a mixture that can be used to glue plexiglass involves dissolving ordinary foam (extruded polyurethane) in 646 solvent. The cooking process is exactly the same, with the only difference that the foam does NOT need to be shredded. It dissolves perfectly.
After the composition has become visually homogeneous and transparent, it must be kept for several hours until the dissolution process is complete.
Stir the mixture thoroughly before gluing.
Dichloroethane
If the surfaces are NOT perfectly smooth, then there is another way to glue them. A little plexiglass shavings (sawdust) are poured into a bottle with dichloroethane after dissolving, a thick composition is obtained, which can be applied with a spatula or wire.
In the room where they work with dichloroethane, high-quality ventilation is required.
Colacril 20 and colacril 30 glue
The Colacril family serves as a functional replacement for the expensive Acrifix family adhesives.
Colacril 20 is highly fluid and Colacril 30 is astringent.
Experts Blend them to obtain the optimal consistency for each specific compound.
Compositions allow you to glue the parts and get a beautiful and even seam, transparent and without bubbles.
The disadvantage of the Colacril family in comparison with Acrifix is the formation of small cracks in the place of the plexiglass bend, caused by internal mechanical stresses. At the same time, the appearance deteriorates, but strength remains.