Cutting Acrylic on the Delta

I am planning a project, and I want to make sure I have all the information, tools, and materials gathered before starting. I have read/heard we can cut acrylic sheets on the Delta, and I know it requires a special blade. I need to cut several 1/2" sheets and I am looking into getting my own blade to ensure the quality of the cuts. I know, and plan to clean up thoroughly after myself. My questions are…

Should I run the delta with the sawdust collection OFF when cutting acrylic? (I don’t want to harm the filter or anything)
Is there anything else I should consider before cutting?

Thanks in advance!

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You can run it with the Dust collection on, but when your complete please check inside the machine. Sometimes the hot plastic ends up melting to another plastic piece and so on untill it creates this styrofoam ball looking thing. Other than that just make sure you use the right blade like you stated.

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Thank you both! Plus a few

Is there a size restriction (e.g. too small)? I have some 1/8" that I need to cut and scoring/snapping hasn’t produced the results I want.

Have you tried cutting it on the laser cutter? 1/8” cuts beautifully.

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I haven’t, they’re just straight cuts so I figured using the laser was overkill. Plus I’m certified on it but never actually used it. Would it be easy to setup for a few straight cuts? I’m making a dipping container that will hold chemicals for photography

since it was mentioned these are sheets then likely not a suitable tool, there isn’t that much blade area.

high tooth count plastic blade. Check the drawers by the Mitre saw. I bought two for a 1" thick acrylic sheet a month or two ago but didn’t get much use out of them since the acrylic had other issues (most notable that it fell and hit a corner, ruining the piece). They are some red blades (Diablo I think?) and have something like a 90+ tooth count.

Cheers,
-Jim

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Plastic blades also require a different, negative angle on the teeth in addition to a high tooth count. Make sure you select the plastic blades and not just the high tooth count wood finish cut blade.