Acrylic
At a Glance
Process
Lead Time
Colors
Tolerance
Price
Applications
About the Material
Acrylic is a scratch-resistant plastic, available optically clear or opaque. It is often used for tanks, panels, and optical applications. It can be somewhat brittle in thin walled areas, so it is not recommended for delicate or complex geometries.
This plastic is also known as PMMA, an abbreviation of its full chemical name, polymethyl methacrylate, as well as by the trade names Plexiglas and Lucite.
Material Properties
Tensile Strength
Elongation at Break
Hardness
Density
Maximum
Temp
McMaster Part Number
Material Finish
Acrylic is transparent or opaque (black, white, and a variety of colors) in its unfinished state. Clear acrylic will take on more of a frosted translucent appearance when machined, though can be smoothed again to an optically clear state using various finishing methods.
Design Recommendations
Min Wall Thickness
Min End Mill Size
Min Drill Size
Max Part Size
Undercuts
Radii : Depth
(0.03 in)
(0.02 in)
152 x 394 mm
[d,h] (lathe)
For end mills, depth must not exceed 10x drill bit diameter.
Cost Saving Tip
Related Resources
Engineer's Guide to CNC Machining for Prototyping Hardware
Fictiv CNC Material Datasheet