Acrylic Keychain

Totally amazed at the crispness of the engraving, even in the small fonts! And the corners are sharp!

ProofGrade acrylic with stock settings again. This time artwork brought in as vectors.

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Very nice! I love the look of engraved acrylic.

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Lovely! :grinning:

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Be careful how thin you make the key ring hole. I’ve made a few and especially with acrylics if it’s too thin it will chip and break pretty easily. Also make sure to use jump rings helps on the wear and tear. This is one I made for my son’s class last year.

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Thanks for the info.

I’ll probably scale this whole design up a bit then I’ll have more room to widen the tab for the ring and beef it up some.

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it’s about time someone recognized my star qualities

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And don’t forget to anneal the acrylic to lessen the probability of cracking. I still haven’t done it but keep meaning to.

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Hadn’t thought of using acrylic for keychain charms. Real nice!
And… Nope! Doesn’t look super sharp and dangerous to have in my pocket at all. :wink:

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Definitely a to-do for keychains. They’re under constant stress with keys hanging off of them and the ring hole is likely to craze & crack otherwise. Remember to let it cool down in the oven after you turn it off & don’t just grab it out. The gradual cooling rampdown is important for good results.

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Nice! Acrylics are going to be so much fun!

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Just curious, does heating it up to anneal it do anything to the quality of the engraving. For instance, I know if you hit something engraves with a heat gun it will cause the “frosted” effect to disappear.

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I frelling love playing with acrylic so far. And I knew I would. I’m about to place yet another order for some more. Not that I have specific use for it. But I’m beginning to think anything works and looks fantastic in acrylic! :slight_smile:

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Some people put miniature pocket knives on their key chains, this is just saving them the hassle of opening it. :smiley:

I had it in my mind before ever buying a laser cutter that acrylics were going to be a big medium for me, and now seeing it in person, and just how crisp and clean they come out of the laser affirms that.

It shouldn’t cause issues with engraving because annealing temp is in the 180-210 degree range which is not hot enough for deformation. Forming temperature is in the 325-350 range if I’m remembering right.

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Nope. Radically different temps. I usually anneal at 170F (lowest my oven will go). The heat gun temps most people use are 300-350+. At higher temps you get the flame finishing effect - it really brightens the acrylic.

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All outta likes man, but I’m all over your posts!

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so after i make a keychain that ive engraved i have to do something to it after ?

Only if you want to anneal it, or form it into a different shape. You are unlikely to want/need to do either for a keychain.

Very nice. Those sharp corners should punch a hole in his pockets, too!:joy: seriously, I like the look. Nice engrave job.

So how do you anneal acrylic?

180F oven, 1 hr/mm of thickness and then let it cool in the oven.