The best technique for cutting rigid plastic depends on its thickness.
Best way to cut abs plastic sheet.
X research source whether you re cutting out smaller sections from a larger piece or using the whole sheet for a project cutting abs at your home workstation can be easy with the right tools.
X research source the blade of a jigsaw is about 8 inches 20 cm long so won t lend itself to detailed cutting for example if you want to cut out a small circle of plastic.
Prepare the work surface and lay the plastic on it.
Be sure to use a compressor to keep the sheet in position to avoid chipping and more time needed to polish the cut.
Straight cuts in thin sheets the cleanest and easiest way to make straight cuts in acrylic and polycarbonate sheets that are 3 8 inches thick or less is to use a hook knife.
Cutting thin sheets of plastic if you want a straight cut in a thin acrylic or polycarbonate plastic sheet up to inch thick reach for a simple utility knife then follow these steps.
A plastic cutter or a similar utility knife can be used to cut thin sheets of abs plastic.
This method works best if the sheets you are working on is approximately inch thick.
You can easily cut thin plastic sheets less than 1 16 inch 063 thick with a utility knife.
Softer colored plastic sheets often require two passes and then must be snapped on the score.
Routers can be used to cut acrylic for both curved and straight cuts.
Here are some of the techniques you can put into practice when cutting abs plastic.
Plastic sheets have a thickness tolerance of 10 and can have thickness variations throughout the sheet.
Harder clear plastics such as polycarbonate may require multiple passes with a knife but the result will be a clean cut finished edge with no chips or cracks.
Using a plastic cutter.
A jigsaw will work best if you re cutting heavy duty plastic including pvc pipe.
For best results use another tool like the earlier mentioned table saw to cut your acrylic roughly before getting a more exact finish with the router.