Materials · Acrylic

Acrylic CNC Machining Service

CNC milling CNC turning Laser cutting Polishing

Machined acrylic — the low-cost glass alternative, cut and then polished back to optical clarity where a part has to be transparent, weather-resistant and accurate, at the tolerance, minimum wall and lead time the shop holds.

Get a quote
Compare all 23 materials

$Price band

0.25mmAchievable · ISO 2768

0.80 mmMinimum wall

3–10 daysPublished lead time

CNC machining an acrylic (PMMA) sheet component

Specifications

Acrylic specifications: 0.25 mm tolerance, 0.80 mm wall, 3 to 10 days lead time

Six numbers a buyer asks for before sending a drawing — the process, the
tolerance we hold, the minimum wall, the largest envelope, the lead time and the price band.

Process

CNC mill · CNC lathe3-axis and 5-axis milling, turning

Achievable tolerance

Not lower than 0.25 mm (±0.010"),Based on the drawing, ISO 2768

Minimum wall

0.80 mmVaries with the wall-to-linear-dimension ratio

Maximum part size

200 × 80 × 100 cmLargest envelope quoted online

Lead time

3–10 daysComplex parts sit at the far end

Price band

$Where Acrylic sits against the other 22 materials

Read this first. Process, maximum part size and lead time are
identical on all 23 material pages — they describe the shop, not the material. Tolerance,
minimum wall and price band are the three that change from one material to the next.
This page publishes no grade list, so there is no grade table below — name the
grade you want on the drawing instead.

Machining routes

Machining routes for acrylic: milling, turning, laser cutting and polishing

Milling and turning are what this page is quoted on. The routes below are the ones the same material takes when the stock form, the volume or the lead time changes — each one is a service page on this site.

CNC millingQuoted here3-axis and 5-axis milling of cast and extruded acrylic sheet — panels, guards and display parts.CNC machining →

CNC turningQuoted hereTurned lenses, spacers and clear components from acrylic rod and tube.CNC turning →

Laser cuttingSheet stockProfiles and lettering cut straight from acrylic sheet, with a flame-polished edge on the cut.Laser cutting →

PolishingFinishing passThe step that makes a machined edge read as glass; the surface-finishes page covers the polishing routes.Polishing →

Not used for Acrylic:EDM, die casting, vacuum casting and grinding. Acrylic is an electrical insulator, a thermoplastic sheet is not a casting route, and it is soft enough to load a grinding wheel rather than cut.

Which transparent plastic?

Acrylic, polycarbonate or PVC: choosing by clarity, impact and cost

Each answer points at a page on this site that covers it in more depth — a
comparison, a grade guide or a process page.

Is optical clarity the point, at the lowest cost?

Then it is this page. Acrylic polishes back to a clear finish a polycarbonate part will not take, and it is the cheaper of the two — the trade is impact resistance.

Polycarbonate (PC)Machined parts vs glass

Compare with polycarbonate →

Will the part be hit, or used outdoors under load?

Polycarbonate is the impact grade and it is on this site too; it takes a hit acrylic would crack on, at the cost of surface clarity.

Polycarbonate (PC)Material selection guide

Compare with polycarbonate →

Is chemical exposure part of the service?

PVC is the page here bought for chemical service, and it machines to the same order of tolerance without the transparency.

PVC PVC guide

Compare with PVC →

Sheet work rather than a turned part?

Sign panels, light-box faces and guards are cut and profiled from sheet, then edge polished. The design guide covers how the panel is specified before it is cut.

Design guide All 23 materials

See all 23 materials →

Comparing Acrylic with something else?Send the model and the drawing. If the material is still open, the grade call comes back with the price instead of as a separate question.

Get a quote

Machining & tolerance

Tolerancing and inspecting acrylic parts to ISO 2768

The published tolerance on this page is Not lower than 0.25 mm (±0.010"),
on the drawing, to ISO 2768. Where a feature needs better than that, say so on the
drawing — that conversation belongs before the tool goes in, not after.

ISO 2768 general tolerancesWhat we hold when the drawing stays silent Tolerance & fits standardThe shop standard behind the number above DFM guidelinesWall thickness, fillets, thread depth — read before you draw Machinability of materialWhy some grades cut slower, and what that costs

Finishes

Finishing an acrylic part: polishing, flame and edge work

Polishing is the finishing step that matters here — a machined acrylic edge stays opaque until it is polished or flame-treated, and that step is what decides whether the part reads as glass.

PolishingSheen and clarity control Bead blastingUniform matt texture As-machined / deburringTool marks left, edges broken Smooth machiningA finishing cut, not a coating SandingHand step before polishing Fine machiningTighter Ra band All 20 finishesWith Ra bands and process notes

Applications

Where acrylic parts go: signage, light boxes, guards and display work

Signage & displayPanels, letters and display parts machined from sheet
Light boxes & diffusersFaces and diffusers that have to pass light and stay clear
Machine guards & coversTransparent guards cut and profiled to the drawing
Precision transparent partsComponents where accuracy and clarity both matter

All of it cut on the same floor —
see CNC machining and
how we hold tolerance.

Machined acrylic parts showing optical clarity after polishing — Machined acrylic parts, polished back to clarity — shop gallery image.

Acrylic in context: the clear plastics, machinability and tolerances

Deeper reading from around this site — the comparisons, the standards and the
process notes behind this material.

Material choiceBest plastic for machining: material selection guideHow the transparent plastics are sortedRead →

ThermoplasticsCNC machining of thermoplastics: a comprehensive guideThe family this material belongs toRead →

Other clear plasticPolycarbonate (PC) machiningThe impact grade buyers compare acrylic againstRead →

Material choiceCommon materials for CNC machiningWhere the clear plastics sit against the metalsRead →

TolerancesNavigating the precision of ISO 2768: a guide to standard tolerancingHow the general-tolerance standard readsRead →

Reading first, or ready to quote?The pages above set out the trade-offs. If the part is already drawn, send it and the quote comes back in one business day on a clean drawing.

Get a quote

FAQ

Acrylic machining: sheet type, polishing, tolerance and files

Straight answers to the questions that come up most often on a CNC quote —
with the figures published for this material, and a link for each point.

Which acrylic grades can you machine?

This page publishes no grade list, so no grade is named here. Cast and extruded sheet machine and polish differently — cast sheet cuts and polishes cleaner, extruded is the cheaper one — and the two are not interchangeable on a visible part. Name the sheet type on the drawing and it is confirmed in writing.

What tolerance can you hold?

0.25 mm, on the drawing, to ISO 2768 — the figure published on this page. Where a feature needs tighter than that, mark it on the drawing so it is priced and inspected as a controlled feature.

What is the smallest wall and the largest part?

Minimum wall is 0.80 mm. Maximum envelope is 200 × 80 × 100 cm. Both are shop-wide constants, identical on all 23 material pages.

How fast is a Acrylic part?

3 to 10 days, with complex parts at the far end. Post-processing, if you ask for it, is a separate step and adds to that window.

Which finish should I ask for?

The cards in the finishes section above are the polymer set — polishing, bead blasting and as-machined / deburring among them. The full list of 20 is at surface finishes.

What files should I send?

STEP, STP, IGES, IGS, SLDPRT, STL, DXF, DWG, PDF, DOCX, JPG, JPEG, PNG or ZIP. A 2D PDF plus the model is the combination that gets quoted fastest.

Is my drawing kept confidential?

Uploads stay with the people quoting and making the part. If you need a mutual NDA in place first, say so on the contact form and it is arranged before files change hands.

Next step

Send the drawing — we come back with the material call and the price

Upload the model and the 2D PDF. You get a manufacturability note, a note on the resin if the drawing leaves it open, and a price.

Get a quote
All 23 materials

All uploads are secure and confidential.

Quoted in 1 business day on a clean drawing
The resin and fill stated in writing on the quote
First article inspected before the run