Jigsaw Puzzles using Acrylic? Settings help

Has anyone created puzzles using acrylic? I would like to be able to make some of the clear ‘impossible’ puzzles made from acrylic or even use all black or blue acrylic for the same effect- however the pieces when cut don’t really stay together very well which doesn’t make for a very good puzzle. Especially when there is no image to reference it makes it a lot harder to tell if the pieces even go together since they do not come close to clicking.

So far I have only tried on .125" cast acrylic at S= 155, P= Full, 2 Passes and S=125, P=Full, 1 Pass- and no luck. You can put the puzzle together but you can’t move it anywhere as the pieces will move from each other so easily.

Has anybody found success making jigsaw puzzles out of acrylic? If so, what settings are best? Any tips or tricks are much appreciated!

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You can cut each piece separately and adjust for kerf. (Not recommended, it would eat up more material.)

Or just make a frame for it to sit in. Then even if they wiggle a bit they won’t fall out.

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I have cut dozens of puzzles from acrylic using standard “proofgrade” settings. The kerf is sufficient to make the pieces snap together perfectly with just a little “give”…

Many of them are copies of Yuu Asaka puzzles (I make them for friends and family, I do not sell anything) and the fit is quite important.

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Welcome to the forum.
There are lots of examples of puzzles made out of acrylic on the Glowforge here in the forum. Some are in the Free Design section. Use the search function and you will be richly rewarded.

Hmm I just tried this and still having the same issue, perhaps a little bit tighter but still not great. Did you use actual proofgrade glowforge acrylic? I was not using proofgrade but I have a piece of that left from when I bought the forge I could try.

edit: I tried with larger puzzle pieces and the fit is nicer. I was doing pretty small test cuts and the tabs were small so the curves being so tight created extra kerfing. Works better with bigger pieces. Probably the best I will get without cutting individually. Thanks!

Thanks but not looking for a puzzle design itself. Definitely have searched the forum but haven’t found any thread explaining a good cut without having to cut each piece separately to make a snug fit. Still combing through the forums but nothing yet.

Maybe not what you are looking for, but these are fun to look at. Wild n' Funky Bright Acrylic Puzzles

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I made a pretty big one out of PG Clear medium. I think it may have been 25x25 or some crazy thing. No graphic, no nothing, just 625 absolutely clear pieces. I don’t know if I will ever try to assemble it. I haven’t even finished “weeding” it yet. Note to self, when making a jigsaw puzzle, ALWAYS remove masking first. (although someone on here posted a nice trick to cut horizontally, then unmask and remask and then cut vertically. Might try that.)

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Thanks for sharing my puzzles, @dklgood! It may be that the puzzle design that you are working with doesn’t have good node shapes to “catch” on. I call them interlocks, and when I design my puzzles I test to make sure they fully interlock around the outer edge. That way I can drag it around that table and it stays together.

I have 2 acrylic settings that I use:

  1. Acrylic Cut Smexy: 120 speed / 75 power / 1 pass / focus at 0.116in
  2. Acrylic Cut Sloppy: 155 speed / Full / 1 pass / focus at 0.116

I use #1 when I need a tighter kerf, and #2 when it doesn’t matter so much. Post some pics when you get a chance!

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All of my acrylic puzzles have been cut from Glowforge proofgrade acrylic. I have cut non-proofgrade using the same settings, but not for puzzles.

I got brave and hydro dipped some clear acrylic. Allowed it to fully dry and then did some test cutting. So far so good. Colors stayed vibrant and no issues with flame ups.

I hope you will share some photos of your brave endeavor.

I will share once I am confident that works all the time. Dont want to stem too far out of the proverbial box quite yet.

God Bless America

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