Love this edge scraper from Delvies Plastics. (And only $10!) Edge Scraper: Delvie's Plastics Inc.
Smooths rough or sharp edges when the acrylic settings aren’t perfect. Even if I have to break my item out of the acrylic sheet, this tool will smooth the edges so I don’t have to throw it away!
BEFORE!
The easy way it to just drag them into your editing box.
What does the tool look like?
How would this be better than a nice high grit sandpaper?
It’s just super easy. You hold the acrylic in one hand, run the tool around the edges once or twice and it’s done. No marking at all on the surface of the acrylic. Also, for $10, it’s close to immortal which makes it a good value.
Thx for posting this, it will be a very useful tool
NOT being critical, but why isn’t it cutting thru cleanly?
The acrylic designs I’ve made would not be a candidate for a tool like this (usually small parts that need tweezers to manipulate) but I’ve never had issues with edges like that, even with non-Proofgrade from other suppliers.
A lot depends on how the acrylic is cast, some may not be stress relieved and high stress points may lead to a “chip” look rather than a clean lasered ablation/cut even when fully cut through.
Also I’ve found some items have sharp edges at start/stop point, mainly on thicker (1/4") stock.
If visual clarity isn’t key, sanding works too, but this scraper tool can be a great option (on sheets it’s sized for).
And the ultimate (and commercial) process where clarity is important is “flaming” the edges–which if you’re not careful, indeed you can get real flames, too!
In this case, I think it was because I cut an entire sheet of rectangles and by the end there was a lot of heat built up and the sheet lacked structural integrity. They all came out neatly except for the last one.
I’ve also run into this when I’m working with artisan acrylic and I want to cut on the lowest heat possible. While I’m experimenting with how low I can go to avoid a ripple effect, pieces don’t always pop out neatly. Now, I don’t have to trash the ones I break out.
Thanks for the heads up! I’ll have to look into it.
Yeah, I’ve watched flat material lift/warp while pieces are cut from it.
I’ve broken up complex designs to control the cut order.
