best acrylic for plate making

[lucaslink]

wondering if someone could point me in the right direction for what the best acrylic/lexan might be for making custom plates. I have access to a laser cutter and want to pick up some acrylic to do some experiments next week. the plates in my existing boards are all stainless steel, and while i realize there is no sheet that will give the same rigidity i would love to get some feedback if anyone has had success with this in the past. recommendations?

THANKS!

[lucaslink]

acrylic might not be the best word. material other than metal that i can use in a laser cutter.

im thinking nylons, polycarbonates, lexans, plexi, etc.

[sethk_]

1.5mm is the most common thickness, not sure about other types of acrylic though... I know just general acrylic, carbon fiber, and polycarbonate are probably the most common alternatives to metal plates

[lucaslink]

word. i picked up a sheet of 3mm acrylic at a local hardware store and i have some nylon i could experiment with.
i think nylon would be the best metal alternative but i believe only nylon 6/6 can be laser. i have to special order it and its kind of expensive. we'll see how this 3mm clear acrylic goes.

[sethk_]

I know with carbon fiber they have to use a water jet to cut it

[Findecanor]

Wood can be laser-cut. Use of 3.6mm plywood is quite common. MDF too. The downside is that the edges will be burnt.

[heedpantsnow]

I'm having one made of delrin right now.

[Photekq]

word. i picked up a sheet of 3mm acrylic at a local hardware store and i have some nylon i could experiment with.
i think nylon would be the best metal alternative but i believe only nylon 6/6 can be laser. i have to special order it and its kind of expensive. we'll see how this 3mm clear acrylic goes.

Unless you are getting the plates machined you absolutely need 1.5mm. Otherwise the switches will not latch onto the plate. If you want thicker than 1.5mm you need to mill out notches to make the area where the switch would normally latch on 1.5mm, so that they can latch on.

[lucaslink]

Unless you are getting the plates machined you absolutely need 1.5mm. Otherwise the switches will not latch onto the plate. If you want thicker than 1.5mm you need to mill out notches to make the area where the switch would normally latch on 1.5mm, so that they can latch on.

can you tell this is my first go at this? thank you kindly for the information. any idea how or why Moz's acrylic case build used 3mm for the plate (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=48007.msg1030913#msg1030913 ?) i definitely won't be able to mill out notches as this will be laser cut only. i'm still trying to find a decent priced cnc machinist but wanted to get started with laser engraving keycaps and cutting plates/cases for fun.

[heedpantsnow]

Unless you are getting the plates machined you absolutely need 1.5mm. Otherwise the switches will not latch onto the plate. If you want thicker than 1.5mm you need to mill out notches to make the area where the switch would normally latch on 1.5mm, so that they can latch on.

can you tell this is my first go at this? thank you kindly for the information. any idea how or why Moz's acrylic case build used 3mm for the plate (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=48007.msg1030913#msg1030913 ?) i definitely won't be able to mill out notches as this will be laser cut only. i'm still trying to find a decent priced cnc machinist but wanted to get started with laser engraving keycaps and cutting plates/cases for fun.

1.5mm acrylic cracks really easily. So some use 3mm and just hot-glue the switches in instead of relying on the clips.

[Photekq]

Or use polycarbonate instead

[neverused]

PETG is another alternative, ideally you should research different material characteristics and decide from there.

[nephiel]

How about FR4? That fiberglass PCBs are made of?

Most PCB fabhouses can do cutouts. I just checked out OSHPark, board thickness is 1.6mm and they charge a flat rate by the square inch.

You could even add traces for extra LED lighting or whatever.

[lucaslink]

Or use polycarbonate instead

any idea where to find polycarbonate sheets in metric gauges? imperial is available but looks like 1/16 is about the closest which is 1.6mm~. maybe work?

since i have the 3mm im going to cut it and see what happens. there seem to be quite a few phantom builds with 3mm plates and a lot of talk about how brittle the 1.5mm stuff is and how easily it cracks. seems like.. i should maybe run ANOTHER cnc phantom plate gb.

How about FR4? That fiberglass PCBs are made of?

thats... a pretty rad idea.