Picking a Plastic

[jsfrost]

I am considering a job that involves extensive two sided cutting on a 36 x48 sheet of substrait that my client believes should be either ABS or HDPE. The material needs to be transparent or at least translucent, and will have one side filled with full rows of 1.2 inch test envisioned as V carved. The oposite side gets a huge fingerprint vcarved very shallow, perhaps with a 120V bit (toolpath for v carved fingerprint shows .150 max depth Text files have not yet been toolpathed). I have done a little plastic cutting in Colorcore, and know that excessive material removal can result in bowing. I have also melted Wallmart plastic sheets while experimenting.

Are either of ABS or HDPE suitable for extensive cutting of this kind? Is there another material I should be looking at? Or maybe I should just be looking at getting out?

[brian_harnett]

I have a reasonable amount of experience cutting HDPE the stuff cuts like butter no melting or sticking to the bit at all.
I use it for lithophanes.

I buy it from us plastics.
http://www.usplastic.com

[jsfrost]

Thanks for the quick response, Brian

One more question. I assume the HDPE comes with Paper cover. Is it cut with paper and peeled after, or cut without paper?

[brian_harnett]

The HDPE I get has no paper cover on it.