Drill Through Acrylic Sheet

Place the drill perpendicular to the acrylic sheet and set the drill to medium speed immediately.

Drill through acrylic sheet.

The gradually go up in drill bit sizes until you reach your desired diameter. Here is a video on how to properly drill through acrylic plexiglass. This post seeks to highlight the steps to drill holes without seeking professional help. If you just drill a pilot hole then jump right to a big size bit you will likely crack the plastic.

Plexiglass is arguably the most popular replacement for normal glass. Apart from the power drill you also need to have a piece of wood permanent markers or grease oil masking tape and spray lubricant. Drilling holes in acrylic requires the use of a drill bit specially designed for use with plastics. It is possible to drill acrylic with regular metal drill bits.

If this is not the case the drill is too slow. These metal drill bits have ground flukes with 90 degree points and 0 degree rake. Plastic drill bits can drill through plastic. Very excited to have some of my old music up on spotify finally.

Plexiglass also known as acrylic sheet poly methyl methacrylate lucite perclax or perspex is popular for its features which enhance its performance. The chip should break off immediately. These bits come in a variety of diameters at home improvement or hardware stores. Plastic drill bits shave or scrape plexiglass acrylic or plastic away layer by layer.

This way the drill bit enters the plywood when it exits the plastic and avoids chipping the surface on the bottom. However the likelihood of melting chipping cracking or breaking the acrylic is much higher. Press only lightly on the drill the drill must sink itself through the material. The plexiglass drill bits have geometric structures different from the traditional drill bits that allow them to puncture easily through the acrylic.

Before drilling it s best to clamp down the plastic securely to a solid surface and back up the piece you are drilling with a spare piece of plywood underneath.