Acrylic vs plexiglass vs lexan

[evansd2]

Oh also, a quick search for “cast vs extruded”:

https://community.glowforge.com/search?q=cast%20vs%20%20extruded

… There are three great threads right at the top of the list:

Acrylic: Cast vs. Extruded for Strength

I am designing a marble machine gizmo that will be made of mostly clear acrylic. For the lift chain I want the pin that connects the links to pressure fit into the outside faces. But I am concerned that after laser cutting the holes they might be susceptible to cracking or breaking from the pressure. I know cast acrylic is best for taking a nice engrave. But is there a difference strength wise between cast and extruded? Is this a good case where annealing the plastic would be helpful? [Link]

Cast vs Extruded Acrylic in Edge Lit Signs

I have an idea for a cheshire cat sign using the different properties of cast vs extruded acrylic. Per the examples that have been shown, one does not show etching very well under normal light. My thought is to make layers with the grin on one material and the cat on another. The grin will always show up, but the cat won’t unless lit, and then program the controller to dim the LEDs to off to make the cat fade away, leaving the grin. Any input on this? I have seen it done but I am not sure how th…

Understanding Cast vs. Extruded Acrylic

This likely won’t include anything novel for regulars but, this post on Core77 includes a pretty good explainer on cast vs. extruded acrylic, as well as the differences in Plexiglas / plexiglass nomenclature: