I have a project with simple lettering on 3/4" 12x24 cast acrylic. I was wondering what might be the best equipment and settings to use?
XCARVE - obviously an upcut bit,but dewalt setting, feed rate, DOC etc
JTECH 7 W laser - speed and power settings, number of passes etc
Should I engrave on in inside or outside of the acrylic?
This is for my son’s sub woofer box, for a window. There will be LEDs in the box but not directly around the acrylic
Any help would be appreciated, as you know you just cant plane it down or turn it over if you mess up.
Thanks
Start by putting it on the back side and remember to flip the image. I have tried the diode laser a few times on acyrlic and it did not work very good but could have been me. I would go with the bit at a pretty good pace of speed. If you do not go fast enough the acrylic will melt and you will have problems.
the JTECH laser is a visible light diode laser. It will not cut clear acrylic. CO2 lasers will cut and engrave acrylic.
There are some people who have used diode lasers to mark acrylic, and this is typically done by painting black tempra paint on the acrylic and hitting the paint layer with the laser. The black tempra paint heats up causing the acrylic to produce tiny bubbles. The paint is washed away and white marks are left. Look for Papa’s woodshop on youtube to see some of his diode laser work.
I use blue masking tape on the cutting side when engraving acrylic with the laser. At full power and speed does the job for me, but you may want to do a line at 75% power and adjust fire from there. You’ll need to replace the tape before each pass. Also, when applying the tape to your cutting area make sure your strips don’t over lap.