Small pieces falling through the honeycomb

I am making acrylic name necklaces and welding 1/16 black acrylic name on top of a 1/8 gold mirror acrylic back.

Everything was fine until i had to do a name with an i in it. The dot in the i fell through the honeycomb.

how can i still cut through the 1/16 acrylic but not let the small small pieces fall away? Every i needs its dot and i dont want to have to dig through the scraps in the tray, and i would like to not have to take the tray out and empty it to retrieve the dot either.

is there something i can put under the acrylic that wont cut?
would just a piece of wood work?

any and all help would be greatly appreciated. mahalo!!

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I find that placing a single sheet of cardstock below what I’m cutting can prevent this.

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perfect, ok so in your experience the paper doesnt cut as well and end up in the tray too?

I created a ton of necklaces and ornaments my first two weeks and came across that problem. I’d suggest editing the dot where it touches the i so it doesn’t fall through OR as Gary suggested since it works for him.
Best of luck!

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That would all depend on how much power you’re giving it.

If you want to be 100% sure that it’s not going anywhere, put down aluminum foil or something.

Also, you can cut an array of like 15 extra dots. Some will fall through, some won’t because of exactly where they fall on the honeycomb. Then carefully place tape across the piece and lift the acrylic right out of the machine, the dots will come with the tape.

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Yes. Typically, the paper will be scored, but not cut through completely, leaving a bit of a platform (in my experience). If you’re cutting unmasked acrylic, it’ll also reduce flashback underneath and you get a cleaner edge.

perfect im gonna try it, i read alot of people were recommending foil but no one had answers about the results so i didnt want to take the chance. mahalo nui!!

I also use this tape lifting method for small parts after cutting.

I haven’t tried foil - could be even better,

just wondering, how safe is the foil? does it work for you?

I use aluminum foil for that – it works well. No issue with safety.

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I sometimes put a thin piece of cardboard (like a cereal box) IN the crumb tray (open the front and the crumb tray has some openings). Let the dot fall onto the cardboard and then retrieve it by pulling out the cardboard.

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If none of those ideas work–clean the crumb tray out before the job, so in case it does fall thru, the little piece should be a lot easier to find…

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thank you so much everyone im glad to report that the single sheet of foil worked perfectly!!! all i dots have been retrieved and the race to Valentines Day is back up and running!

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