Each fabrication process adds stress to the sheet. Some fabricators have very sophisticated production facilities, others do not. If the fabricator cuts acrylic sheet with a sophisticated panel saw, the amount of stress that is added to sheet is minimal. If he cuts the sheet with a hand-held circular saw that has a dull blade, there will be major difference in the amount of stress that is added to the sheet. If your customer is more archaic in the way he processes his sheet, cast will be more resistant to crazing. If your customer has a highly automated shop with CNC cutting, routing and polishing equipment, he should be able to fabricate continuously processed acrylic sheet very efficiently. If he uses some of the highter molecular weight acrylics, he will be able to perform more processes in a shorter period of time. Since stress in acrylic can cause crazing, it should be avoided as much as possible. If your customer has sharp tooling, uses the proper cycle times and feed rates for cutting, bonding, polishing and forming, the amount of stress that is added to the sheet is minimized.

For more information, contact Mike at Ultra Acrylics, Inc.