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Bytor
(@bytor)
Estimable Member
Clear Acrylic/Plexiglass sheets

I'm in the process of trying to finish my enclosure for my MK3. I'm looking for recommendations for a supplier (good quality, low cost) of clear acrylic/plexiglass sheets that are cut/custom sized. This would be shipping in the USA (North East)

In my searches I have come across extrude and cast acrylic - what is the difference and does it really matter for an enclosure?

Thanks.

- 1st "printer" TIKO 3D
- 2nd PRUSA i3 MK2S with MMU v1
- 3rd PRUSA i3 MK2S
- 4th PRUSA i3 MK3 with MMU v2- 5th PRUSA i3 MK4 (upgraded from MK3) with MMU v3 (upgraded from…

Posted : 18/07/2018 9:06 pm
Chris O
(@chris-o-2)
New Member
Re: Clear Acrylic/Plexiglass sheets

extruded acrylic is cheaper than cast acrylic, and can make whatever you're looking at look "warped" because of the lower quality. i guess it's also less clear than cast acrylic. the cheapest place i've found for the cut sheets is printedsolid.com. they have the sheets cut in cast acrylic for $60 plus free shipping. i contacted a local plastic place (nashville) and they quoted me $73 for extruded acrylic sheets cut to those sizes....so i went with printedsolid.

Posted : 19/07/2018 4:59 am
Bytor
(@bytor)
Estimable Member
Topic starter answered:
Re: Clear Acrylic/Plexiglass sheets

Christopher,

Thank you for the information about cast vs extruded acrylic.

I checked out PrintedSolid.com, but I didn't see any information about custom sized acrylic. They did have pre-cut acrylic sheets for a LACK cabinet, which won't for me because mine is not a LACK table cabinet.

- 1st "printer" TIKO 3D
- 2nd PRUSA i3 MK2S with MMU v1
- 3rd PRUSA i3 MK2S
- 4th PRUSA i3 MK3 with MMU v2- 5th PRUSA i3 MK4 (upgraded from MK3) with MMU v3 (upgraded from…

Posted : 20/07/2018 8:01 pm
Ezoghoul
(@ezoghoul)
New Member
Re: Clear Acrylic/Plexiglass sheets

Heyo,

I just got done with building my enclosure. I got my Plexi shipped from https://www.tapplastics.com/ for $56.72 shipped (UPS Ground) to Texas. I just went with the Extruded Acrylic. Only problem with the site is they use imperial measurements cause 'murica. But here are the sizes I used. (stolen from the comments on the blog post)

440mm is 17-5/16″
220mm is 8-5/8″ (erring on the low side, it’s actually closet to 8-11/16″)

Hope this helps! Good luck with the project, I actually had a ton of fun putting mine together and am extremely happy with the results.

Posted : 21/07/2018 11:13 am
burtronix liked
JBinFL
(@jbinfl)
Reputable Member
Re: Clear Acrylic/Plexiglass sheets

Hello:

I ordered the plexiglass sheets for my enclosure from printedsolid.com. Lack acrylic $60. No shipping fees. It was well packaged and got here in three days. Cut to size and ready to go. I am most pleased and I would recommend them.

It was less cost than getting it locally, and I probably could have gotten it a little cheaper if I shopped around, but I figured why not support a small business in the industry who took the initiative to find and order and have it all precut and ready to go without hassle. I saw someone’s post about it here and checked it it. I am glad I did.

Strange women, laying in ponds, distributing swords, is hardly a basis for a system of governance!

Posted : 09/08/2018 9:05 pm
burtronix liked
MikeBowe
(@mikebowe)
Eminent Member
Re: Clear Acrylic/Plexiglass sheets

Cast VS Extruded, there's also other things to consider:

Laser cutting

When laser cutting extruded acrylic , there will come a burr on one side of the part. On the cast acrylic there is almost no burrs. The edges on extruded acrylic parts can look a bit different depending on the direction of the acrylic extrusion.

Thickness tolerance

Sheets of cast acrylic vary more in thickness. A cast 3 mm acrylic sheet vary +/- 15%. While an extruded sheet only vary +/- 5%. The dispersion within the tolerance also seems to be less on extruded sheets.
The high tolerance on cast acrylic sheets often comes as a surprise to designers, with many construction errors to follow.

Scratch-resistant

Cast acrylic is more scratch resistant than extruded acrylic.

More pros and cons:

http://www.pmma.dk/Acryl_stobt_kontra_ekstruderet.aspx?Lang=en-GB

"Better to be a racer for a moment than a spectator for a lifetime"
Posted : 10/08/2018 9:04 am
lucas.c3
(@lucas-c3)
Trusted Member
Re: Clear Acrylic/Plexiglass sheets

I recommend checking how stable your build is before getting Plexi. I was not happy with the wobbling and ended up putting wood sides on the desk to improve stabilization.

Posted : 13/08/2018 6:53 pm
Bytor
(@bytor)
Estimable Member
Topic starter answered:
Re: Clear Acrylic/Plexiglass sheets

Hi Lucas... The Top, back, and bottom will be wood. Its the front and sides that will be acrylic. I just need to find a decent price for the custom sizes.

If I was doing an IKEA Lack table enclosure than the $60 pre-cut sheets would be fine.

- 1st "printer" TIKO 3D
- 2nd PRUSA i3 MK2S with MMU v1
- 3rd PRUSA i3 MK2S
- 4th PRUSA i3 MK3 with MMU v2- 5th PRUSA i3 MK4 (upgraded from MK3) with MMU v3 (upgraded from…

Posted : 13/08/2018 6:57 pm
jony33
(@jony33)
Member
RE: Clear Acrylic/Plexiglass sheets

we always buy acrylic sheet (plexiglass) from https://mrplexi.ir/%d9%be%d9%84%da%a9%d8%b3%db%8c/ with best price and really fast delivery.

Posted : 15/04/2024 10:58 am
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