Plastic and Metal

PMMA's transparency is outstanding compare with other plastics. Because it's stable mechanical and chemical characters , they are often used as an alternative to glass. Acrylic Parts are also very durable , with great UV resistance , which other plastic can't compete. 

Extruded PMMA thickness range from 2mm - 10mm ; and Casted PMMA from 3mm - 50mm. The differences are not only about thicknesses. Due to the production process, Casted PMMA have more solid mechanical structure, and more suitable for CNC precision machining.

Due to PMMA's rigidness, it's very important to keep feed rate low from the beginning ,and gradually speed up.  While processing and before machining, it's crucial to cool down the PMMA panels, and keep the temperature to a very minimum, it's very different from Metal

Engraving is one of most popular applications for PMMA, mostly for decoration and advertisement. To achieve ultra-precise and optimum optical goal, special tools are the must, and also the details after machining, like cleaning and polishing. 

Laser cut is very common for cutting & processing PMMA to certain size or form without too much precision requirement like CNC. Without the precision , the cost is also much lower. Most of the PMMA projects are laser & CNC combined. 

Molding is often applied to 1) mass production for certain pattern 2) bigger individual piece, which is impossible with CNC or Laser 3) Special design with certain surface requirement.  Molding & Bending are very common processes for PMMA.