I can't remember, which acrylic to use in my Gerber Router (we mainly do foam & wood signs). I know the choices are Acrylite FF & GP, I know one heats up and melts, the other cuts well. Can someone refresh my memory? thanks...
Posted by KARYN BUSH (Member # 1948) on :
mine says acrylic sg...i know its the more rigid one for outdoors...but i think you could adjust your feedrate so it doesn't melt...also i use belin bits which cut like butter.
Posted by Ted Nesbitt (Member # 3292) on :
FF is extruded and is softer. While you can cut 24x36 rectangles out of it, it's not great for highly detailed cuts.
GP is cast and is this better for most routing applications. While it costs more, the results I've seen in the past speak for themselves. I also used GP where a good finish (ie/lobby letters) was req'd.
The other nice thing about cast acrylic/plexi is that it usually comes with the peel-off paper liner, which is great for use on a router. Protects the top, and helps hold smaller pieces in place, whether you have a vac table or not.
Note that some "off-shore" acrylic type products may claim to be cast, but aren't. Again, if your plexi/acry is too soft, it balls up and makes a real mess of the edge. I had some stuff from Taiwan years ago that said it was cast, and was 60% the cost of GP. Guess what---it stunk to high heaven when cutting, and the results weren't great---alot of finishing and cleaning was req'd after....
