Cutting acrylic with PW 3D

[cnc_fabricator11]

Hello,


Hope everyone is doing well. I'm in the midst of cutting a 3D relief into acrylic with my PRS Alpha , and I was wondering what type of bit would suit this job the best? Also, if you have any tips for this process please let me know.


Thanks,

-P

[crewdog]

Hi Patrick,
I do quite a bit of work with acrylic and polycarbonate. Most of my cutting is 2D single-flute (oflute) square endmills. For 3D work, I've been happy with Harvey Tool's plastic cutting ball endmills. Here's the link (http://www.harveytool.com/prod/Products/End-Mills/Plastic-Cutting-End-Mills_137/Carbide-Plastic-Cutting-End-Mills---2-Flute--Ball_149.aspx).
Cheers,
Brian

[Brady Watson]

I second Harvey's tooling. Top quality and the right geometry for cutting plastics. This is a relatively new tool - previously only available from Europe in metric.

Run a roughing pass. Compressed air or alky coolant will improve your finish and minimize the dreaded 'white line'.

-B

[cnc_fabricator11]

Thanks for the info, big help.


-P