Drilling Holes In Acrylic Sheets

You can finish the hole directly if you have a routing table.

Drilling holes in acrylic sheets.

The pilot hole should be at least 1 2 the diameter of the final hole. This will avoid cracking which may damage the entire sheet. Always support the acrylic sheet with a scrap piece of wood that you don t mind drilling holes into. On any hole much larger than 1 8 you can drill a 1 8 pilot hole then route the hole out with a dremel tool.

While you are drilling through the plexiglass sheet the friction would produce intense heat and the bits would cause lots of plastic shavings around the hole especially if the sheet is thick. Failing that you have 2 other options on sheet plexi besides a step bit. Support the drill well when it is almost. There are precautions that you must take to ensure that the.

If your sheet is thick do peck drilling going a little at the time so that you can remove the shavings from your hole and allow the drill time to cool. Zero flute countersinks work well for the countersinking and deburring of holes in acrylic sheet. Press only lightly on the drill the drill must sink itself through the material. You could drill progressively larger holes but in my experience this can cause chipping around the edges of the hole.

The chip should break off immediately. Insert an acrylic point drill bit into the chuck of the drill and set it to a medium speed. Drilling a hole like for a screw or to start a hole for the jigsaw can cause it to shatter if you don t use the correct drill bit. Drilling holes in acrylic sheet.

If this is not the case the drill is too slow. Place the drill perpendicular to the acrylic sheet and set the drill to medium speed immediately. When you start the drilling process ensure that the hole is away from the edge of the plexiglass. Drilling holes in acrylic requires the use of a drill bit specially designed for use with plastics.

Drilling plexiglas is similar to drilling wood. For example to drill a 1 2 inch hole you can make a pilot hole by beginning with a 1 4 bit drill and then moving to a 1 2 bit drill. Acrylic drill bits are available for drill presses. Here you will discover which drill bits are suitable for p.

Or get the hole pretty close then finish with a drill bit. Standard metal drill bits will work but without extensive modification the metal drill bit will crack and chip the brittle acrylic sheet.