Circular saw cutting

Perspex® can easily be cut with a circular saw, providing you use the correct blade. I have found that a saw blade that is suitable for cutting Laminates works very well on Perspex®

To obtain a straight cut you can clamp a straight piece of wood on top of the Perspex® that you are cutting, this then acts as a guide and enables long straight cuts with little difficulty.

Scribe - Breaking

Perspex® up to 4 mm thick may be conveniently cut in a straight line by deeply scribing one surface several times with a sharp metal scriber, clamping the sheet with the scribed line uppermost and pressing sharply down over the edge of a bench. The technique, which is not applicable to Perspex® XT IM sheet, requires some practice and is most suited to small pieces of thin extruded sheet. A suitable scribing tool is the STANLEY knife laminate cutting blade No. 5194. See below for details of scribe-breaking.

Scribe breaking Perspex®

Breaking along the scribed line

Laser Cutting

Perspex® may be laser cut and very complex and intricate shapes may be cut out using this type of equipment. Thicknesses up to 25 mm can be cut although some experimentation will be necessary to achieve the optimum quality of edge finish above 12 mm. Some stress can be generated around the edge of laser cut Perspex® and it is important that the laser beam is accurately focussed. If cementing or surface decorating up to a laser cut edge it may be found necessary to carry out a short annealing cycle (see later) to reduce the risk of fine crazing along the edge. It may be found preferable to remove the top masking film to improve the edge polishing effect from the laser.

NOTE:-When laser cutting Perspex®, as with all other materials, it is very important to provide adequate ventilation at the cutting head to remove any traces of unpleasant or even toxic combustion vapour. Expert advice should be sought from the machine manufacturers if in any doubt.

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