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Acrylic CNC Machining

Acrylic is one of the most popular thermoplastics that is known for its strength and opacity. Acrylic is an abbreviation of “polymethyl methacrylate” and is also known by names such as PMMA, Perspex, and so on. Although easily machinable, building accurate parts from this material demands experience and expertise in acrylic machining services. At China CNC Machining, we specialize in acrylic CNC machining services, which allows us to build parts with complex geometries and assure a high level of customizability. We regularly deliver acrylic machined parts to our clients across industries.

What is Acrylic?

Acrylic is a thermoplastic that resembles polycarbonate in many ways and is the best alternative to glass due to its opacity. This is one of the opaque plastics available and is widely used across industries like life sciences, medical, food and beverage, and so on. Acrylic machined parts can withstand years of exposure to challenging elements such as chemicals, temperature, and corrosion and so on. This material will maintain its strength and dimensional stability even if exposed to UV radiation and fluorescent light. It is one of the most popular scratch-resistant plastic around.

Properties of Acrylic

The following properties of acrylic make it a popular engineering plastic.
  • Chemical Resistance: Acrylic plastic can resist a wide range of chemicals and it does not age quickly. This property makes them an ideal choice for creating CNC machined acrylic parts for medical applications or other applications where they may be exposed to chemicals as a part of the cleaning or other processes.
  • Temperature Resistance: We regularly provide acrylic machined parts for applications where they may be exposed to temperature variations. This material can withstand a minimum service temperature of -40 degrees Celsius and a maximum temperature of 80 degrees Celsius. It starts softening at 80 degrees Celsius and undergoes linear expansion at 110 degrees Celsius.
  • Lightweight and Impact Resistant: Acrylic sheets are lighter than glass, which makes them an ideal choice for applications where manufacturers may be looking to save material cost and weight. This material exhibits 17 times more impact resistance than ordinary glass, which makes them ideal for building parts that may be subjected to impact or shocks more often.
  • Optical Clarity: Acrylic plastic is known for its optical clarity. It possesses excellent light transmission properties and has a refractive index of 92, which means it can transmit almost 92% of white light that falls on it. This property makes them an ideal choice for applications such as optical lenses, lens guides, display products, and so on.
In addition to the above-mentioned properties, the following properties also make them an ideal choice of precision acrylic CNC machining applications.
  • Acrylic is a cost-effective and more readily available material compared to other thermoplastics.
  • The material is an excellent thermal insulator and can create a good sound barrier.
  • It is BPA-free and can be easily bonded.
  • It is available in various colors, coatings, and UV-resistant grades.

Types of Acrylic Machining Services

At China CNC Machining, we specialize in the following types of acrylic CNC machining services.
  • CNC Milling: In this technique, the acrylic sheet is shaped using multi-point cutting tools that rotate on their axis.
  • CNC Turning: In this technique, the acrylic bar to be machined is rotated and cut into the desired shape by the cutting tool. We use CNC turning machines from Haas and Leadwells to create simple and complex CNC machined acrylic parts.
Both these acrylic CNC machining services utilize computer-controlled machines and assure a high level of accuracy, precision rates, as well as productivity.

Acrylic Grades We Work With

We work with a vast range of acrylic grades and the following are a few popular ones among them.
  • Clear acrylic sheets
  • White acrylic sheets
  • Colored acrylic sheets
  • Mirrored acrylic sheets
  • Non-glare acrylic sheets
  • Solar tinted acrylic sheets
  • Abrasion-resistant and anti-static acrylic sheets
  • Textured acrylic sheets

Popular Acrylic CNC Machined Parts

At China CNC Machining, we leverage the properties of acrylic to produce the following acrylic machined parts for industrial applications.
  • Housing
  • Electronic components
  • Transparent manifolds
  • Automotive trims
  • Lighting fixtures
  • Sound barriers
  • Signage
We have worked extensively with acrylic and understand its advantages and disadvantages in specific applications. This understanding has helped us become one of the leading acrylic machining services in the US. All acrylic CNC machining services is performed in-house at our well-equipped facility in Shenzhensconsin. This helps us stay true to our commitment to quality and cost-effective services at fast turnaround times. Feel free to approach us by inquiry-cnc@made-parts.com or phone to know more about acrylic CNC machining services.