Acrylic Questions

[wsteffan]

I tried my first few attempts at Acrylic this weekend.

First off, I sampled the 8x10 pieces sold at Lowes to get a feel for how to cut pieces.

I think I read a post from Tony that said he usually does .001-.003 and a 1/8 BN bit.
So I started there - the cut came out ok, but I noticed one side was slightly less etched that the other side.
I measured the table bed and all seemed pretty level. So I increased to .004 and that did the trick.

It took me 3 tries to get a good cut. Now the fun part. I ordered a led/remote/power kit from Ebay and hooked up the lights. Cut a base and turned on the leds. It was not as bright as I expected.

My first guess is the quality of the plexi and then the thickness. I believe there are .08 inch think

What thickness works best at basic size etching 8x10, 10x10, 12x12 etc?
What brands are people using for their acrylics?
Are they polished edges?
What about the acrylite brands and more expensive pieces like those? How much better are they vs. other brands?

Always up for any tips / advice.

Thanks

Wayne

[tonydude]

you have to use cast acrylic. I get mine from http://www.estreetplastics.com/Plexigla ... r_s/21.htm I use 3/8" cast acrylic also buy 5050 led strips they are brighter. Some carving you have to go deeper than .001 depends on the clipart. I've done over 150 edge lit acrylics, sometimes I use a 90 vbit. Anymore questions just ask.

Tony

[Kevink18]

I just buy the 1/2 inch thick cast acrylic from my local plastic supplier

[tonydude]

It's cheaper to order online for me than to get locally including shipping. I order at least 3 sheets at a time and cut my own to size.

Tony

[wsteffan]

No matter what, it will be cheaper for me to order. I live in a 3rd world country called New Mexico. Ok its a state but still, not a lot of options here for tools/wood/ or in this case plexi.

Tony,

I ordered some of the pieces from the site you listed. I suspect it will be here Monday.

About the leds, do you find it cheaper to get a led /strip kits with leds, remote, power, connectors, or do you like or prefer to buy bulk and in pieces? Strips or leds, connectors you put together or solder yourself? How do you purchase your leds?

The ones I did buy for the 3528 or whatever that number was, I bought a kit of the 5050 with remote/power to test it out.

I don't mind soldering, as most of the posts here seem to prefer that over the per wired units.
Just looking for a decent deal, but keeping overall quality in mind as well.

What are guys using for leds/and specifically how are they powered/wired?

Thanks
Wayne

[Keith Hodges]

For the most part, all LEDs come from China, even most that are sold from American dealers. I buy off eBay, around $27.00 or so for 16 foot rolls. Or you can buy the exact same product for around $100.00 from some American suppliers. I hate that, but it is what it is. The same for the remotes. 3/8's inch acrylic will work on most carvings, cheaper than the 1/2 inch. For deeper cuts like 3D carvings, I use 1/2 inch. For some really nice intricate carvings, instead of v bits, I use my diamond drag bit. There's no comparison in quality, the diamond drag bit wins hands down. Just can't do 3D carvings with the drag bit. Polished edges, sanded edges, all personal choice. I like the sanded/frosted look myself, and doesn't effect light penetration. Like Tony said, 5050 LEDS are preferred. The other you mentioned has fewer, weaker lights. Most of all, enjoy, there's unlimited fun to be had.

[tonydude]

I buy everything off ebay from china. I can get a 5mm roll of rgb leds for about $12.00. I buy 5 at a time. I buy power supplies at about $4.00 each and buy 25 at a time, and so forth. Gotta have them when orders come in usually around the holidays.

Tony

[wsteffan]

Tomorrow the fun begins. I got both the Acrylic Tony mentioned in post and 2 led 5050 kits in from amazon today.
I bought 25 pieces of 3/8 to start with, hope I don't mess up to many of them.

You guys are correct, the 5050 are a lot brighter than the 3528's.

When using 90V bit, do you cut to a certain depth, or let the tool path/size of design decide the depth?

Do you carve short runs to keep plastic from melting and the bit getting to hot?

Wayne

[Keith Hodges]

Slow your router speed down about half, speed your router travel up to 100 or close on the FRO slider on your control panel. If still having problems, a steady blast of compressed air works well. Most of my v carvings are around .03 depth of cut. You might have to play a little. Start shallow, run again deeper if need be. Saves ruining material.