Jesus Loves You [acrylic]

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Xxray
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Jesus Loves You [acrylic]

Post by Xxray »

Made this for a special little girl, a friend of mines daughter.
I got so caught up working around the holidays that I didn't get her anything, not even a card. Felt terrible about that, so I thought I'd do something extra special to make up. Both of her parents are very religious, and shes a little angel, so I know this is sure to please.

Made from .45 acrylic, its about 6.5 both ways.
Didn't feel like going as far as to rig up a special base for it, so I just drilled a hole up top so it can be hung. Beamed a blue laser at it for lighting effect, but in practice, this one will remain unlit.
This was made from a scroll saw pattern that I converted to .dfx, which I'll attach if able. Although I have Aspire, I did this one is cut 2d. Still like that one for simple cuts like this. No reason why it couldn't be vcarved, or whatever else ,,, But for plexi, I think a simple pocket cut is the best.
[note: if you cut this in acrylic, remember to flip the pattern].

Credit for the original pattern goes to Steve Good, a world class pattern designer [permission granted for reuse].
Attachments
1 (Large).JPG
2 (Large).JPG
jesuslovesyou.dxf
(1.43 MiB) Downloaded 477 times
Doug

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Re: Jesus Loves You [acrylic]

Post by tonydude919 »

Xxray,

What bit did you use to cut this? Feeds and speeds also. Want to try my hand at cutting plastic.

Tony

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Xxray
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Re: Jesus Loves You [acrylic]

Post by Xxray »

90 degree v bit for the lettering, .25 end mill for the cut out.
10,000 RPM, 250 ipm. I only scratched the surface at .009 deep, thats all you really need. Always good to experiment, but going deeper you generally lose detail, as more of the cone of the vbit cuts into the material.
Slower rpm's and higher speeds tend to reduce, if not eliminate, the problems sometimes present in cutting plexi of it fusing back together. So you'll generally want to spin as slow and move as fast as possible, the idea being to create less heat.
If you don't have optimal settings, plexi will also tend to collect and harden on the bit, which will ruin the entire project as the hard plexi scratches everything up as the bit spins. It can be frustrating, and it is messy, but theres a good pay off when you create a nice work such as this.

While this is 1/2 plexi, 1/4 will work just as well, and of course is cheaper. I'm using this because I got a load of it for free.
Doug

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Xxray
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Re: Jesus Loves You [acrylic]

Post by Xxray »

Here is another I cooked up today, this one is about 8" across.
Attachments
wheel (Large).jpg
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CountryWoodCrafts
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Re: Jesus Loves You [acrylic]

Post by CountryWoodCrafts »

Xxray wrote:90 degree v bit for the lettering, .25 end mill for the cut out.
10,000 RPM, 250 ipm. I only scratched the surface at .009 deep, thats all you really need.

Only nine thousandths deep wow that is just scratching the surface . . . I have 1/2 inch stuff I was going to go 250 thousandths. . . I guess I need to recalculate. . .

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Xxray
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Re: Jesus Loves You [acrylic]

Post by Xxray »

All depends on what effect you are after, and what you are working with.
You do tend to get more details with less depth. Sometimes I profile a bit deeper, and do the pockets very shallow. This emphasizes the outline, and can be a great looking effect.
When I botch a cut, I usually save the wrecked piece, and do some experimenting on the flip side with different cutting depths and techniques.
I'm really getting into this acrylic cutting, so much so that I just bought a dedicated vacuum for the plexi chips. I save my sawdust for fireside fun in the summer, so I don't want plastic mixed with the wood.
Doug

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Re: Jesus Loves You [acrylic]

Post by LouF »

Some nice work I am thinking about trying that out..

Lou
Lou

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Xxray
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Re: Jesus Loves You [acrylic]

Post by Xxray »

Give it a shot, Lou.
"Variety is the spice of life" ,,, And plexi certainly adds that to CNC.
Doug

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