Does anyone have a laser cutter for lexan?

WolfieArcade

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I've made three attempts to cut out a sheet for this control panel.. Once I'm done with that, I can finish painting, wire up the controls, and it'll be done. Plexiglass breaks like no one's business. I've found that lexan is a hundred times easier to work with. Even so, I'm not good at accurately drilling (I don't own a drill press and can't afford it right now).

So I was wondering if someone had a cutting machine or the skills to cut one out for me? I'll pay for the lexan and the labor for it. The reason I need the lexan is because the cp is all warped out of shape. So using a sheet of lexan would make it more flat and finished on the top.
 

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in the past I've had Ace cut plexi to the size I need. then I drill my own holes. I had a few angle cuts I had to make for a 33" showcase panel.

when drilling, the secret is to go in reverse. like with a hole saw, you don't necessarily want the hole saw to cut into the plexi (or lexan), when you run it in reverse it kind of melts the hole out. it's amazing. same thing with drilling holes with a regular bit.

maybe not here, but I think I picked up on that from BYOAC. that was like 100 years ago.
 
I have a laser cutter/engraver, but it doesn't have a large enough cutting area to do what you're asking. But I just wanted to comment that in general, Lexan (polycarbonate) doesn't cut well with a laser. Plexi (acrylic) works great with the laser, but like you mentioned, it does crack easily.

DogP
 
I didn't know lexan is too much for a laser cutter...intense lol
Yeah, polycarbonate burns and discolors... maybe it works fine with a really high power laser, but not a standard <50W laser. I'd agree that a CNC would probably be the way to go if you don't want to do it by hand.

DogP
 
We have a dual laser cutter at work.

You definitely need to use a CNC to do lexan/polycarbonate.

You can cut very thin lexan but the edges burn and you get lots
of brown discoloration all across the cut lines.

JD
 
PM sent.... Still waiting to hear back from you. Do you have the measurements for the control panel?

Brian
 
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