How to cut plastic at home

Cutting technique

Self-cutting can be carried out with products with a diameter of 5 to 30 cm.So, if the product does not fall within these limits, it is best to turn to professionals.

When carrying out any such manipulations, it is important to remember the basic rules:

• Reinforced plastic products are very sensitive to temperature, so some problems may arise in hot or cold weather. The material shrinks and expands easily, making it difficult to determine the true dimensions.
• Metal-plastic, like polypropylene pipes, can be cut by any means at hand. But in order to avoid various negative consequences, it is best to do this with special tools.
• A special self-sharpening knife is an excellent tool. But if it is planned to carry out work to replace one section with another, it is better to abandon the tool in favor of scissors.
• The material is quite fragile. Applying too much force is fraught with cracks or specific deformations. The permissible load can be seen in the product passport, which was issued at the time of installation of the water supply system.
• The type of cutting directly depends on the proportion of metal and plastic in the product. If there is more metal, then when cutting, there should be as little friction as possible. Otherwise, a large proportion of plastic implies a high intensity of work with high friction.
• Before starting work, it is imperative to make sure that water or gas does not flow through the pipe. You need to turn off all the taps and wait a little.
• After completion of work, you need to properly clean the inside of debris that can lead to blockages or break specialized equipment.

The use of electronic cutting tools is not considered reasonable as the material is not designed for this. Can be handled manually.

Roller

The devices are made in the form of a hook, inside of which one or more movable wheels are located. The pipe to be cut is placed precisely on the rollers.

Roller pipe cutter for polypropylene pipes

There is also a sharp wheel in the design. With its help, parts are cut. The cutting roller is located on a telescopic extension. It slides out of the handle.

The section of the pipeline part is carried out by turning the roller device around the clamped workpiece. The number of turns depends on the wall thickness. In this case, the cutter is tightened each time by turning the screw mechanism.

The roller tool will quickly cut polypropylene pipes. Most importantly, accurately position the cutter on the marked line of the cut.

During cutting, do not strongly press the roller against the polymer surface. Otherwise, microcracks will form in the material. Because of them, the strength characteristics decrease, which leads to the formation of chips.

You need to cut off part of the straight part smoothly. These rules must be strictly observed when working with thick-walled pipes of large diameter.

How to cut plastic pipes at home

Guillotine

This type of tool is characterized by its simple design and the ability to accurately cut straight pipe pieces. Manual and electric guillotine models are available. There is a blade in the design of the equipment, which is strictly perpendicularly lowered onto the pipe.

Most hand tools are capable of cutting products up to 70 mm in diameter. A tool is also available that allows you to work with parts with a section of 100-150 mm.

This range is quite enough to carry out the installation of water supply and heating in an apartment or cottage. Industrial models allow cutting of larger diameter pipes.

The guillotine pipe cutter consists of the following main parts:

• a sharp blade, usually Teflon coated;
• clip for tubular element, opening from below;
• handle with a stem that allows you to create a smoothly increasing pressure.

The guillotine tool is not designed for fast work. The reason for this is the stem, which after each cut has to be unscrewed in the opposite direction.

Ratchet pipe cutter

The electric saw is ideal for cutting a large number of PVC pipes. Electric saws, however, are expensive. If you already own one or have access to one and know how to use it safely, you can use your existing wooden blade to cut PVC pipe without buying a special blade. Be sure to read and understand the instructions included with your miter saw.

How to cut plastic pipes without special tools and experience

Plastic pipes are popular in the construction of various pipelines. Their durability, practicality, affordable cost and durability contribute to widespread adoption. Such materials are used both in private homes and on an industrial scale. As a rule, when arranging pipelines, pipes must be cut. What to use for such work and how can PVC materials be cut?

How to cut a sewer pipe

The drainage system or discharge of dirty wastewater is a complex of plumbing fixtures and sewer pipes. The assembly process into a single functioning system is described by the installation process.

It indicates the sequence of work, the tools and consumables used, and also describes the method. how to install the sewer pipes correctly.

Instruments

The knife is the head of everything.

An even simpler device than polycarbonate is cut. the most ordinary clerical knife! With its help, you can cope with polymer plastic canvases, even for beginners in this matter.

Consider several aspects, and everything will work out:

• The tool must be of excellent performance to cut polycarbonate effortlessly.
• Attention! We cut polycarbonate without haste, as the blade is sharp. In this regard, you can not only spoil the polycarbonate, but also get an unpleasant cut.

There is an aspect! Stationery knives are worth considering if you have sheets that are 4-6 mm thick. Thicker ones will be difficult to work with. The knife has worked well in situations where you just need to quickly trim the edges.

Laser cutting

The newest way to cut polycarbonate is laser cutting. This requires special equipment that generates a laser beam, which cuts the polycarbonate sheet.

Among the advantages of this method are:

How to cut hard plastic best trick

• perfectly straight edge;
• the ability to cut material of various thicknesses;
• high manipulation speed.

However, there are some disadvantages to laser cutting:

• To carry out the work, special expensive equipment is required. It is advisable to purchase it only if it is planned to use it professionally in the future.
• Before starting cutting, it is necessary to correctly configure the equipment. this requires certain skills.

Thus, laser cutting is acceptable for only a small number of users. Of all the options for cutting cellular polycarbonate, you should still choose an angle grinder or an electric jigsaw. After some practice with such tools, you should be able to make a beautiful, high-quality cut.

Having dealt with the basic tools, we will tell you how to cut polycarbonate with one of them.

Features and characteristics of monolithic polycarbonate

Polycarbonate is a solid colorless material consisting of carbonic acid and two atomic alcohols. In appearance it is similar to plastic, but differs in a very original set of characteristics. With absolute transparency and viscosity, it is very durable and heat resistant.

Due to the presence of these properties, polycarbonate is incredibly popular among builders and is most often used as a worthy alternative to glass. At home, it is used mainly for the external design of greenhouses, gazebos and hotbeds.

How to easily cut plastic sheets by hand

The polycarbonate material is very lightweight yet surprisingly durable. It is also quite flexible and resistant to adverse external factors, as well as chemicals. It is presented in two types of products: cellular and monolithic. The latter is very heavy and is quite capable of withstanding significant mechanical loads.

Brief summary of the toolkit.

A huge plus of building materials that you can even find with limited abilities how to cut polycarbonate at home. Tools can be found in every garage / workshop.

Summing up the intermediate results, let’s summarize that for marking and further cutting, you can use the following “helpers”:

• Construction knife for polycarbonate or its “brother”. clerical.
• Jigsaw.
• Grinding machines, more specifically angle grinders. people call them “grinders”.
• Hacksaw (metal only).
• A circular saw.

If there is access to industrial equipment, then the task of how to cut monolithic polycarbonate is simplified:

• Milling machines. they must have software control.
• Lasers.

Telling, the better to cut cellular polycarbonate and, of course, monolithic, it is worth mentioning that it should not be used in any case. Otherwise, you will simply damage the sheet, and the work will be of unsatisfactory quality:

• We talked about a hacksaw for metal, but its “brother” for wood is in no way suitable. The teeth are very large, so the plastic is not cut, but torn. The result is a “picture” with cracks, burrs and jagged edges.
• In continuation of the conversation, how to cut cellular polycarbonate, we will mention scissors (of course, construction ones). They are also often called plastic scissors. Yes, you can take them when it comes to monolithic sheets of material that are thin. If the situation is different, then in the process of squeezing, deformation begins at the cut.
• Another taboo than cutting cellular polycarbonate is a hacksaw for wood (recall that for metal. it is possible and even necessary).

Stationery knife

Perfectly cuts polymer plastic canvases and a stationery knife. over, even beginners can cope with this. The main thing is that the knife is of good quality, and the work is not carried out in a hurry. the blade of such tools is very sharp and you can not only make an incorrect cut, but also get seriously injured. The stationery knife is suitable for honeycomb sheets with a thickness of 4-6 mm, but with 8 mm it is already quite difficult to work with. On thicker sheets, cutting polycarbonate is almost impossible, therefore, experts recommend using a knife only where you need to trim the material, and even then, on sheets up to 10 mm.

Polycarbonate Fastening Tips

Fixation of polycarbonate sheets should be done with self-tapping screws with sealing washers. It is noteworthy that the diameter of the self-tapping screws should exceed the cross-section of the hole in the polycarbonate by 1-2 mm. This allows you to compensate for the expansion of the material when heated.

In addition, it is very important that the self-tapping screw into the polycarbonate sheet is free. Otherwise, a hole that is not drilled properly may result in deformation of the material.

Laying polycarbonate should be done end-to-end, but gaps should be left for thermal expansion of the material. This approach will avoid mistakes in the installation of polycarbonate.

Use neoprene or silicone tapes to seal the material joints. You should not use soft PVC sealing materials, as as the polycarbonate is used, they release substances that gradually destroy the material.

Sealing compounds for insulating polycarbonate joints can only be silicone and no others.

Features of the

It is important to consider that the physical personality of the polymer affects the power tool when cutting plexiglass. Because of them, obstacles often appear on how to cut plexiglass at home.

It begins to melt as soon as the temperature reaches 160 degrees. It will be possible to bend it when it reaches only 100 or even 90 degrees. As a result, thick slabs cannot be processed using a simple circular saw. Have to resort to other options.

This material has enough pros and cons. The benefits include:

• high light transmittance;
• low thermal conductivity;
• resistance is 5 times higher than that of glass;
• ecological cleanliness;
• resistance to the action of microbes, water, microorganisms;
• electrical insulating properties.

It’s bad that acrylic is prone to surface damage, it just ignites, microcracks often appear at the fold.

There are many tools on the market that allow you to make an even cut.

How and what to cut plexiglass at home

Plexiglass is a widespread synthetic material. It is created from an ester of methacrylic acid. In everyday life, it is often called acrylic glass, acrylic, plexiglass. It is cut with power tools. But with this method, difficulties often arise due to the fact that microscopic particles of organizational material stick to the disk. In addition, the power tool may simply not be at hand. How to cut plexiglass in other ways and with improvised means, we will tell in this article for us.

Hacksaw for metal work

One of the most affordable options is to use a hacksaw. Not a bad candidate than sawing plexiglass at home.

By its own hardness, plexiglass can be compared to beech. So you can imagine how difficult and long it will take to saw through the material. In addition, it will be necessary to ensure that the glass does not heat up. Therefore, you will have to work extremely slowly.

It is comfortable to make markings with a marker, it leaves a catchy and noticeable mark. cutting line is perfectly applied with a knife, nail.

At the same time, a hacksaw is an option for how to cut plexiglass at home, only if you have to cut it in a straight strip. It will not be possible to make curved cuts perfectly.

Good to know. When the blade gets stuck during operation, pour in a little water. This will cool the cutting line.

Three-tooth disc

When the need arises to create processing of a huge number of sheets, the most powerful tools come in handy. To mechanize this process at home, they use a three-toothed disc for plexiglass and wood. This is an effective tool for figuring out how to cut the plexiglass straight.

In essence, it is an improved angle grinder. Among the materials with which it is recommended to work with a three-tooth disc, not only plexiglass is mentioned, but also wood. This is a good method to cut Plexiglas at home using a straight line.

It is important that the temperature of the acrylic does not increase, it does not start to melt and stick to the disc. It can be used to cut sheets up to 10 mm. When deciding how to trim the plexiglass, take the three-pronged disc.

Hand cutter

Another option, than to cut plexiglass at home, is to make an improvised tool from a cloth for a hacksaw. Take a canvas (even if it is used) and a file.

On the forums, it is recommended to make a sharp nose on a grinding wheel. To work comfortably, the handle should be wrapped with something. For example, duct tape. All work will take a few minutes.

If you are looking for how to cut the plexiglass in half, then it is enough to issue only a few cuts, and then break the material. You don’t need to cut through to the end.

Jigsaw

On the web, the newest methods are constantly appearing on how to cut plexiglass at home. Professionals recommend using a jigsaw. The main condition is the presence of a function for monitoring the number of revolutions.

For sawing, files are used that are designed specifically for this material. If they were not at hand, you can take wood saws. They will also cope with the task of how to cut plexiglass at home.

Plexiglas is cut at low speed. Take the files themselves with the smallest teeth. If you increase the speed, the plexiglass will start to melt in the area of ​​the cut, the color of the seams will become snow-white. In some blanks, this is unacceptable.

Useful Tips

There are some tips on how to cut plexiglass without chips. To achieve a clean cut, leave the acrylic over a gas burner for a while.

Another option: you can use the most ordinary lighter. True, you will have to spend much more time.

With the help of a jigsaw, you can cut plexiglass. Take narrow saw blades.

When you receive them, look for the ones with the MP.S. These are the most effective devices to solve the problem of how to cut off the plexiglass.

Watch the speed of the tool while working. The number of revolutions depends on this. In practice, the speed is selected experimentally. The most important thing is that the plexiglass does not start to melt.

Be sure to put on a face shield. This will allow you to protect yourself from fragments, which will fly at high speed during cutting.