Waterjet or Laser for Plexiglass or Lexan?

[rowdy]

Hi folks,

I have a customer that needs some jewelry stands made of Plexiglass or lexan. It consists of 2 peices...a thick base, made of .5 thick, and measuring
5x10 inches. The second piece is a thiner material, probably .125 in the shape of a hand about 10-12 inches tall and also about 5 inches wide.

I can layout the design and nest it in a .dxf or whatever format you use once I get the final ideas from my customer. I would be looking at cutting up a full sheet of each size...to keep the price down. I would not be looking for one or two pieces.

What i'd like to know...on nesting a sheet and cutting it, can this be done without scratches and with clean edges? Does the laser burn the edges?
Does the waterjet leave a sharp clean edge? The whole idea is to have this thing see through. One last thing...what machines better? I have to machine a slot and a company logo in the base after the pieces are cut out.

Right now I am not looking for hard dollar prices...just to answer the few questions I have so I can either tell the company yes or no if I can do it to thier satisfaction.

Thanks

Rowdy

 

[A1CNC]

Plexiglass or lexan

Hi Rowdy,
I do not have a laser or waterjet so I can't answer what the edge quality would be.
I do have a cncrouter, and I can tell you the material can be cut with a router so the faces would be scratch free. This would leave a sharp edge.

Something to think about is, If this is a display stand I wouldn't want to be responsible for the customers getting cut on those nice sharp edges!

Either Plexiglass( Acrylic) or lexan( Polycarbonate) Would machine decently on a router, The edges could be flame polished.

I think to get anyone to quote you would need a drawing of some sort.

If routing is an option, I would be interested in providing a quote.

Regards,
Eric

 

[ExactBuilt]

Laser

CO2 laser cutting is the way to go. It leaves a clear polished edge which you describe. ExactBuilt can provide this service.

 

[PlasticWorker]

Acrylic is the proper choice for a pop display ( sorry, point of purchase ).
Polycarbonate doesn't polish or cement as well and is not quite as clear ( edges usually look slightly blueish gray ). PC is also more expensive and scratches easier. The pirmary advantage of PC over acrylic is break resistance.

I would laser cut the hand. I am guessing the slot you are cutting in the base is to hold the hand. A slightly curved slot will hold better than a straight one and add a little rigidity to the hand. If you are cementing, the cemented edge should not be laser cut. Any stressed edge ( flame polished or laser ) has a tendency to craze when cemented, unless you anneal it. 12" high in 1/8" material, which today is usually 2.5 mm ( .098 ), might be a little floppy. You might want to use 3/16" (4.5 mm) or form the hand shape to a curve.

Anyone who laser cuts the hand should be able to laser engrave the logo for you.

The waterjet edges I have seen are not quite as sharp as a CNC router.
But they are still dull. Flame polishing softens the edge but is an additional operation. More operations usually mean more money.

If it were my job I would sawcut the 1/2" base and run it through the automatic edge polisher. This should be less expensive than laser and give you a better looking edge.

Hope this helps.

 

[cano]

If you can afford Lexan its very durable but regular plexiglass should work just as well at a lower cost. With your CAD file I can give you a quote and better determine material thickness. The cutting can be done easily in either material and if a company logo is needed more detail is required to determine process of engraving or cutting. Please send a 3D CAD file if this needs to be surfaced or has texturing. I can provide you with all the possiblilities and will provide a refined design with your request.

Regards, Cano

 

[rowdy]

Follow up

Thanks for the ideas.

I am not up on some of the things you mentioned...like flame polishing...ideas are popping in my head tho.

Customer sent me a sample and I was a bit off on measures that were relayed over the phone.

The base is 3.5 x 4.5 x .35 inches and is clear. It has a slot cut in it that is
.125 wide x .200 deep across the 3.5 inch direction.

The hand is made a frosted material, .110 thick and the cubic dimensions are
4 x 10 inches. I did a quick nest on a 4x8 sheet and the aprox number was 95 pc's.

Asked some of the questions y'all suggested here of the customer , and here were the highlights..

50 - 100 sets

Edges needed a slight deburr...(no cutting the customers)

Material can be made .125 for frosted and .375 for base...as long as the slot
was machined with the .015 clearance...the hand just leans in the slot to stand up.

No scratches in the sides...

In the interest of lowering costs and not buying these from china...backed off on the engraving part and willing to go with the lowest cost material that looks the best...(Acrylic ?)

They also requested a sample to check edge, size, quality..ect.

To those willing to go to the next step...I can provide pictures of the sample sent to me. I do not have a drawing on the hand. Best I can do on it is draw around it...and scan it, turn it into a dxf or whatever you need when I see if
the prices are in the range where they are willing to pay.

PM me if more info is needed....or with quotes.

Rowdy

 

[cano]

cost

I have material and the frosting is also doable. I will provide you with a pdf that will be the display set you described, first tell me cost wise if you are good with 50pcs approx $5.99 ea, if you have a figure in mind I will try to meet it.

Thanks for the ideas.

I am not up on some of the things you mentioned...like flame polishing...ideas are popping in my head tho.

Customer sent me a sample and I was a bit off on measures that were relayed over the phone.

The base is 3.5 x 4.5 x .35 inches and is clear. It has a slot cut in it that is
.125 wide x .200 deep across the 3.5 inch direction.

The hand is made a frosted material, .110 thick and the cubic dimensions are
4 x 10 inches. I did a quick nest on a 4x8 sheet and the aprox number was 95 pc's.

Asked some of the questions y'all suggested here of the customer , and here were the highlights..

50 - 100 sets

Edges needed a slight deburr...(no cutting the customers)

Material can be made .125 for frosted and .375 for base...as long as the slot
was machined with the .015 clearance...the hand just leans in the slot to stand up.

No scratches in the sides...

In the interest of lowering costs and not buying these from china...backed off on the engraving part and willing to go with the lowest cost material that looks the best...(Acrylic ?)

They also requested a sample to check edge, size, quality..ect.

To those willing to go to the next step...I can provide pictures of the sample sent to me. I do not have a drawing on the hand. Best I can do on it is draw around it...and scan it, turn it into a dxf or whatever you need when I see if
the prices are in the range where they are willing to pay.

PM me if more info is needed....or with quotes.

Rowdy