Precision cutting of acrylic

[Palek]

Dear Case Masters

I am planning to use acrylic to build a fan adaptor. I have a Dremel, so please do not tell me not to use it... I was wondering what the best bit was for cutting hard plastic like acrylic. I thought maybe an engraving cutter bit would be good for precision cutting.

Has anyone ever built a case or attachment out of acrylic? What's the best Dremel bit for the job?

Thanks

 

[cheapgoose]

I did some acrylic work with an dremel.

I used a dremel with one of these to cut hoiles and such.

If you just wanna cut a piece in half or something, use a straight edge and score the surface, then bend/break over an edge.

I also used a cut off wheel to cut, but the guide that came with the cutting kit was so much easier to use.

these were great too, when I had to grind down a corner and smooth out a cut.

hope that helped a little.

 

[HiTek21]

I would draw out what you want to cut out with a sharpie or marker on the acrylic, drill a hole big enough to fit one of those dremel sanding drums in the middle and kinda go at it with a medium to low speed to sand out the hole. If you go too fast you'll melt the plastic and its harder to control when its at full speed.

 

[Palek]

cheapgoose and HiTek21, thanks for the replies. HiTek21, I like the sanddrum idea, crude but effective!

cheapgoose, your both your links take me to the main page. The dremel website has frames, so when you have the time, could you please go back to those links, and instead of clicking them and then copying the address from the address bar, could you right-click the links and copy them? Thanks.

I'm actually trying to cut an 8cm x 8cm square and a 7.6 cm circular hole in the middle of that. As you can guess, it is for fans, specifically for a home-made 8cm to 12 cm fan adaptor. I know you can buy them, but I am trying to build a really weird-shaped one. Acrylic is pretty rigid so I have to be careful with the cutting as at some points I am only leaving 2 mms of material... Come to think of it, I really do not need it to be that narrow. Maybe I should add a few mms for a safety buffer, huh. Well, I just gave myself a good idea!!!

Thanks again, guys.