How To Drill Hole In Acrylic Sheet

For example to drill a 1 2 inch hole you can make a pilot hole by beginning with a 1 4 bit drill and then moving to a 1 2 bit drill.

How to drill hole in acrylic sheet.

The pilot hole should be at least 1 2 the diameter of the final hole. Depress the trigger of the drill motor to start drilling the hole into the acrylic sheet. If you just drill a pilot hole then jump right to a big size bit you will likely crack the plastic. Mark or scribe the circle and drill a 1 4 inch pilot hole slightly inside the perimeter.

The tip must scrape the acrylic not gouge it. Before you embark on drilling the main hole you should consider starting with a pilot hole. It is possible to drill acrylic with regular metal drill bits. For optimum cutting with circle cutters consider the following recommendations.

When you start the drilling process ensure that the hole is away from the edge of the plexiglass. The cutter bit must also be modified to accommodate the material properties of acrylic. The gradually go up in drill bit sizes until you reach your desired diameter. Use a saber saw or jigsaw with a fine toothed blade for larger circles.

Ensure you go slow stop often to cool the drill and always support the sheet. Align the tip of the drill bit with the location that you need to drill the hole through the acrylic sheet. To drill a hole in acrylite sheet greater than 1 25 4 mm a circle cutter may be used. While you are drilling through the plexiglass sheet the friction would produce intense heat and the bits would cause lots of plastic shavings around the hole especially if the sheet is thick.

Here is a video on how to properly drill through acrylic plexiglass. Step 5 spray water on the drill bit with the water bottle to keep the drill bit cool and provide a smooth finish to the drilled hole. Put the blade through the hole to start the cut then saw around the circumference.