How To Drill Acrylic Sheet Without Cracking

Lay the 3 8 inch plywood on a firm flat surface that allows you to work easily and place the acrylic sheet on.

How to drill acrylic sheet without cracking.

Practice with smaller pieces of scrap acrylic before attempting to drill. Buy a plexiglass drill or plexiglass drill bits that can be used with a regular drill. If you just drill a pilot hole then jump right to a big size bit you will likely crack the plastic. Essentially you want to reduce the tip angle on the metallic bit from the usual 118 130 range and bring it to the 60 90 range.

Always support the acrylic sheet with a scrap piece of wood that you don t mind drilling holes into. Clamp or hold down the acrylic while you drill the hole. This barrier will help avoid cracking of the sheet when drilling the final hole. Using the regular drill bits that you use for metal and wood would chip the edges and crack the plexiglass while you drill but there are specific drills designed for plexiglasses you should rather get one.

The gradually go up in drill bit sizes until you reach your desired diameter. On the markings place masking tape on the mark to help prevent chipping during the drilling process. Place the 1x4 inch piece of wood across the acrylic sheet and secure the plank to the top of the acrylic sheet. Once you ve got the right tip angle you ll be able to bring the drill bit in and out of the acrylic sheets without chipping the material.

The plexiglass drill bits have geometric structures different from the traditional drill bits that allow them to puncture easily through the acrylic. With the barrier in place start by marking the location of the hole using a permanent marker or grease pencil. Insert an acrylic point drill bit into the chuck of the drill and set it to a medium speed. How to drill an acrylic sheet step 1.

Here is a video on how to properly drill through acrylic plexigl. Put on your safety. First you need to drill a small diameter pilot hole to get started. Acrylic chips can easily fly off during drilling and be a health hazard.