Plexiglas...

Lightning[983] · Feb 25, 2005

Hey,

I was wondering, when i buy a square plexiglass window can i cut it into a shape i want or does it have to be in the shape i buy...

And if it's possibile to cut it whitout braking it, what to use? can i use electrical tools?

I ask, because i wanna have a window but it interfers with my CPU intake mod... so i wanna just make a hole in the middle of the plexiglass window...

Oh and BTW, does that increase the noise levels?

BTTB · Feb 25, 2005

I don't think I have the answers to all your questions. But I have some.

Buy a Dremel. They are amazing. It's a rotary tool found at dremel.com. You can pick one up in hardware stores, Kmart, etc.

If you do buy a dremel, you'll need plexiglass reinforced discs. They do not break easily and can tear through tough materials such as steel and plexiglass. DO NOT USE HIGH RPM'S WHILE CUTTING PLASTIC. It will melt.

You will not regret a purchase of a dremel. Don't forget proper safety gear. Goggles, gloves, etc.

Edit: I left some stuff out. If you do mod it, you can cut a window in the shape you want, then drill the plexiglass to the case where you want it to cover. You don't NEED to cut the window to shape, you can have leftovers on the inside out of sight. But that's lazy, although who cares?

Also, it MIGHT make it a little louder, but that's not what you should worry about. You should worry about how it helps.

Captain Slug · Feb 25, 2005

If you're going to be cutting sheet metal and plastic you'll need a jigsaw with a set of blades.. A dremel is nearly useless for large cuts, and won't work at all with plastic.

Don't *** for plexiglas, that's not a real material. It's a vague category of materials. Get Polycarbonate (GE Lexan, Tuffak, or Rhinex brands) which is easy to work with and durable. Acrylic is too brittle and difficult to work with using ordinary shop tools. Anything else in that category is worthless for machining.

BTTB · Feb 25, 2005

Slug wins over me as far as experience; listen to him. Although I enjoy my dremel, he mods a helluva lot more than I do.

Electron Chaser · Feb 25, 2005

Polycarbonate is much more forgiving the acrylics. It has much more plasticity similar and is much more flexible as less likely to crack. It does have a lower durometer so it melts easier but cuts like butter. I recommend using sheets with at least 1/8 th (.125) inch thickness. This makes your sheet much less likely to crack. and reduces tool chatter when trying to cut it.

dracos · Feb 26, 2005

I differ with all of you, and I have a 'little' bit of experience with this subject...

Jigsaw for Plexi.. NO.....

Slow speed...NO

Special Discs...NO

Straight lines, you can use a standard issue utility knife, score it at least 4 times (hard)... Then carefully bend it, and it will snap to a nice clean line, of course this all depends on the thickness of the plexi, thick stuff I would score BOTH sides....

Cutting shapes, YOU CAN use a Dremel, there are just certain ways of going about it so that it works right, and it takes practice to get it right...

FIRST.... You will use a cutting wheel, the standard wheel work fine, but you can get the more expensive reinforced ones, as they will last longer..

SECOND.. Crank it up full speed!!!

THIRD.... DO NOT use the wheel like you would a circular saw!!!!!!!!!

FOURTH..... Makes small cuts, the width of the blade (about 1 inch), DON"T PUSH!!! let the wheel do the work, make sure you have saftey goggles, as the high speed actually pulls the plastic off and shoots it away from the plexi..... YOU WILL make a cut when through, lift wheel entirely out or cut, move over to start next cut where the end of previous cut is..... continue till entire cut is done...... That is for straight lines, any residual plastic pieces that are stuck to plexi, will snap right off when hard, THEY WILL NOT MELT BACK TO the plexi, as some people say (if this is done correctly).. then you can switch to a fine grit sanding drum on LOW speed to clean up the cut if need be.. This process also does not chew up discs as fast....

NOW for a round cut...... same deal, small cuts only,fast speed... except this time you will hold the cutting wheel INSIDE the round, so the round of the wheel follows the round of your cut, the wheel should be approx 45 degrees to the plexi, and make your cut yes it will leave a beveled edge but that will be cleaned up later, it is near impossible to make a round cut holding the wheel at 90 degrees to the plexi, it can be done, BUT it doesn't look very good, and it takes a lot of work to clean it up........

NOW for smaller 'round' cuts, I hope you saved all the cutting wheels that you ground down, the small wheels come in handy ofr intricate cuts, follow the same directions....

Oh and by the Way, I would reccommed DURPLEX brand plexi/acrylic, you can smack it with a hammer and it won't shatter!

I hope everyone here learned something.................

JKrepps · Feb 26, 2005

Some good reading here as well, re: Plexi/etc : http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=297709

CrystalMethod · Feb 26, 2005

dracos said:
I differ with all of you, and I have a 'little' bit of experience with this subject...

Jigsaw for Plexi.. NO.....

Slow speed...NO

Special Discs...NO

Straight lines, you can use a standard issue utility knife, score it at least 4 times (hard)... Then carefully bend it, and it will snap to a nice clean line, of course this all depends on the thickness of the plexi, thick stuff I would score BOTH sides....

Cutting shapes, YOU CAN use a Dremel, there are just certain ways of going about it so that it works right, and it takes practice to get it right...

FIRST.... You will use a cutting wheel, the standard wheel work fine, but you can get the more expensive reinforced ones, as they will last longer..

SECOND.. Crank it up full speed!!!

THIRD.... DO NOT use the wheel like you would a circular saw!!!!!!!!!

FOURTH..... Makes small cuts, the width of the blade (about 1 inch), DON"T PUSH!!! let the wheel do the work, make sure you have saftey goggles, as the high speed actually pulls the plastic off and shoots it away from the plexi..... YOU WILL make a cut when through, lift wheel entirely out or cut, move over to start next cut where the end of previous cut is..... continue till entire cut is done...... That is for straight lines, any residual plastic pieces that are stuck to plexi, will snap right off when hard, THEY WILL NOT MELT BACK TO the plexi, as some people say (if this is done correctly).. then you can switch to a fine grit sanding drum on LOW speed to clean up the cut if need be.. This process also does not chew up discs as fast....

NOW for a round cut...... same deal, small cuts only,fast speed... except this time you will hold the cutting wheel INSIDE the round, so the round of the wheel follows the round of your cut, the wheel should be approx 45 degrees to the plexi, and make your cut yes it will leave a beveled edge but that will be cleaned up later, it is near impossible to make a round cut holding the wheel at 90 degrees to the plexi, it can be done, BUT it doesn't look very good, and it takes a lot of work to clean it up........

NOW for smaller 'round' cuts, I hope you saved all the cutting wheels that you ground down, the small wheels come in handy ofr intricate cuts, follow the same directions....

Oh and by the Way, I would reccommed DURPLEX brand plexi/acrylic, you can smack it with a hammer and it won't shatter!

I hope everyone here learned something.................

Hate to tell you, but a jigsaw works just fine for "plexi", "acrylite", whatever brand name you want to use. The Dremel works fine too. I use the router attachment and bits with my Dremel (works well even on long straight cuts). What works for you is good, and what you listed as instructions is very good. Heck, some people around here have access to a waterjet. IMO, that would be the best way to cut just about anything.

Captain Slug · Feb 26, 2005

dracos said:
Jigsaw for Plexi.. NO.....

My experience tells me otherwise, and every interior or detail cut I've done with plastic has been with a jigsaw. You just have to use the right kind of blade. For acrylic the best blade is a scroll-cut wood blade. For polycarbonate you can use the same, or a metal smooth cut blade.

THE absolute best tool for cutting plastic of any grade is a band saw. But not everyone has access to those and any kind you buy for less than $150 will be junk. A Table saw will work fine for cutting polycarbonate, but acrylic will leech fumes and make a huge mess of "toxic cotton candy" in the process so if you have to do so outdoors.

I've worked with various plastics for a little over 2 years and I can safely say that rotary tools and plastic do not mix. You can get your cuts made in one pass and have much less finishing time and hassle if you use a jigsaw with the right blade.

And, if you want to save yourself a seriously nightmare AVOID acrylite, lucite, and ABS. They all have really low melting temperatures, and in the case of the first two they're extremely brittle.

Lightning[983] · Feb 26, 2005

Thanx, this is a alot of usefull information

But since english is not my 1st language, i'm having a hard time connecting some of the terms you use...

Could you please post some links to shops which sell "dremels" , "jigsaws" or "acrylite, lucite, ABS"... i'll probably know what those tools are when i see the pics, but since i don't know how they are called in english...

Brundle Fly · Feb 26, 2005

Lightning[983] said:
Thanx, this is a alot of usefull information

But since english is not my 1st language, i'm having a hard time connecting some of the terms you use...

Could you please post some links to shops which sell "dremels" , "jigsaws" or "acrylite, lucite, ABS"... i'll probably know what those tools are when i see the pics, but since i don't know how they are called in english...

Here's the Dremel: http://www.dremeleurope.com/dremelocs-uk/Category.jsp?&ccat_id=18
Pick your country here: http://www.dremeleurope.com/start/index_flash.htm

Jigsaw: http://www.dewalt.com/us/products/tool_detail.asp?productID=8949
Pick your country here: http://www.dewalt.com/global/

For the plexi terms, you need a European supplier, I have no idea where to lookm someone in here should be able to help you though.

BTTB · Feb 26, 2005

Awesome. You're from Croatia.

dracos · Feb 26, 2005

Actually if you wanted to you could use a Sawzall for cutting plexi also....

Use a Carbide Grit blade....

I personally don't like Jigsaws, not enough control for me, I like my dremel with flex-shaft attachment, Extreme control over your project...

Brundle Fly · Feb 26, 2005

dracos said:
Actually if you wanted to you could use a Sawzall for cutting plexi also....

Use a Carbide Grit blade....

I personally don't like Jigsaws, not enough control for me, I like my dremel with flex-shaft attachment, Extreme control over your project...

A Sawzall? I use one at work on a daily basis, and if you compare a Sawzall to a jigsaw, the jigsaw comes out on top by a landslide! I dunno, I just can't see using "Sawzall" and "precision cut" in the same sentence, no matter what type of blade is being used. Hope you're being sarcastic there.

I need a variable speed jigsaw, the one I'm using is one speed, and that just melts the plexi, I've tried wood blades, fine toothed metal blades, no difference, it melts the plexi together, quite annoying to say the least.

dracos · Feb 26, 2005

actually I was only slightly sarcastic...

I have used my sawzall (Dewalt 18volt) to cut plexi down to size(big sheets) for rough cutting it works fine, you just really have to watch as it will crack the plexi if not careful...

Lightning[983] · Feb 26, 2005

BTTB said:
Awesome. You're from Croatia.

Whadda you mean by that?

Also Brundle fly... THANX... i checked and i have both

Now... i made some designs on how my case should look... and i ran into a problem... I need to have the plexiglass (o'll just call that way...

) bend in 1 or 2 places... so is it an option to heat it up with a hot air gun , bend it and let it cool... will it be solid after that, or will i ruin it??

a swazall?? man i'm gonna need some kind of modding croatian to english dictionary

Brundle Fly · Feb 26, 2005

dracos said:
actually I was only slightly sarcastic...

I have used my sawzall (Dewalt 18volt) to cut plexi down to size(big sheets) for rough cutting it works fine, you just really have to watch as it will crack the plexi if not careful...

Yeah, rough cut, I used the 18V Dewalt circular saw to rough cut plexi down on site(I install windows, we get a lot of plexi, people seem to use it a lot for covering broken windows, endless free supply for me

), used the blade that comes with the saw, worked like a charm, a bit of chipping, but considering how course the blade is, like 1 tooth per inch, it did an amazing job.

We generally use Sawzall's for hacking and slashing, like cutting nails, slicing through 2X4 studs, siding and such, the finest work we do with a sawzall is cut out a door light, and then we're leaving ourselves 1/2" around the cut to play with.

Lightning[983 said:
]Whadda you mean by that?

Also Brundle fly... THANX... i checked and i have both

Now... i made some designs on how my case should look... and i ran into a problem... I need to have the plexiglass (o'll just call that way... ) bend in 1 or 2 places... so is it an option to heat it up with a hot air gun , bend it and let it cool... will it be solid after that, or will i ruin it??

a swazall?? man i'm gonna need some kind of modding croatian to english dictionary

You're welcome. Here's a reciprocating saw, a "Sawzall" is the same, but is the actual model name for the Milwaukee reciprocating saw, us guys who use them all the time tend to just call them all, no matter what the brand, a "sawzall", because it will cut through just about everything.

http://www.dewalt.com/us/products/tool_detail.asp?productID=131

warlock110 · Feb 26, 2005

can i use my hacksaw to score the plexiglass? i don't wanna go out and buy a knife, would it crack the thing though? i've used my hacksaw to cut fans (computer fans) and it seems ok to me, i think plexi glass would be the same, but i'm not too sure.

dracos · Feb 26, 2005

Hacksaw???

It would/could work, but will take a while...

and you don't have to buy a special knife to score plexi... just use a regular utility knife, or if you have to use a steak knife... just something sharp.. a box cutter works fine also...

stikphysh · Feb 26, 2005

i dont know how a hacksaw would work for that. the idea is to build a straight line down the face of the plastic so when you break it, it breaks on that line because it's the weak spot. you dont even need a knife... you could use a razor blade or something, just be very careful.

it seems aparent after reading through all this that everyone has different oppinions on what works best. i see different ideas between some of the best modders in here. i guess it would be safe to recomend buying some sheets of different kinds of plastic (they arent terribibly expensive) and see what works best for you.

i personaly agree with slug that rotary tools dont mix with plastic as the high amounts of friction generate a lot of heat and plastic melts. i have used the jigsaw myself, and with a little practice you can do very nice work. i have also scored plastic and broken it on straight lines with very favorable results.

i guess this is where you get to be creative and practice practice practice. keep playing with the stuff, and you will have it down in no time. never be afraid to try something. best of luck to ya!

Plexiglas...

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