Acrylic Sawing

Cast or extruded acrylic sheets?

Acrylate sheets of extruded material have a lot of internal stresses that make them break much faster when sawing. We recommend choosing stronger cast acrylic sheets if you know in advance that you will be working with a lot of sawing or other operations. Please note; Both types of sheets are not suitable for manual sawing. It is best to use a table/circular saw to cut acrylic sheets. Optionally, you can even use a jigsaw, but preferably not for an extruded acrylic sheet.

For sawing?

Do not remove the protective film that is on the acrylic sheets and do not draw a saw line on the film. It is better to make a sawing line with painter's tape which you stick to the foil. If required, mark the precise cutting line with a pencil on the de painter's tape. If you have an extruded acrylic sheet, it is best to make a notch on the saw line with a Stanley knife and ruler. You do this against splintering and breaking the surface of the acrylic sheet.

Cutting acrylic with a circular saw

If you want to cut the sheets with a circular saw, it is a requirement that you use a fine-toothed or widia saw blade. Make sure the acrylic sheet is supported over its entire surface during sawing and does not bend next to the saw table. If this does happen, the sheet may bend at the level of the sawing line. In terms of settings of the circular saw, it is important that with a standard 300-millimetre saw blade, you set the speed to 4,000 rpm. This is about 3 to 4 metres per minute, depending on the thickness of the acrylic sheet. Do not feed thin sheets too fast to avoid cracks and fractures. When you want to cut thicker sheets, you can slightly reduce the cutting speed and increase the RPM. Also, always wear safety glasses when sawing an acrylic sheet!

Cutting acrylic with a jigsaw?

Cutting extruded acrylic sheets with a jigsaw has a very high risk of tearing and breaking. With a stanley knife, slightly cut the saw line on both sides of the sheet. This will prevent the fracture from reaching the surface. Always use a fine-toothedsaw blade. Supporting the board while cutting is incredibly important here, even more so than when cutting with a circular saw. Support the board as close to the cutting line as possible, preferably at a distance of less than 2 centimetres. If you want to saw in a straight line, we recommend clamping a straight bar with glue tongs parallel to the saw cut. This ensures that the jigsaw is guided properly. When cutting, the saw should be at speed with a medium-high speed (about 75%). Let the saw do the work and press lightly on the saw through the cutting line when cutting your acrylic sheets.

Requirements for cutting acrylic sheets?

• Glue tongs
• Boards or slats
• Circular or table saw with adjustable speed
• Saw blade with fine teeth, or widia toothing
• Jigsaw with adjustable speed
• Saw blade for (non-ferrous) metal
• Painter's tape

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