Questions about MCwire and acrylic sheets.

Hello every one,

I am attempting my first build on the Mcwire Cartesian bot 1.2, and I am running into some issues when it comes to the acrylic sheets. I went out to the local hardware store which was selling some sheets that were close the size i needed 9 x 14. But these sheets are maybe 1/8 of an inch thick and thus I am having a heck of a time cutting them with a hack saw or a coping say, it is just too flimsy. My question is, what thickness do I need, and where can I get it (Either pre-cut or whole sheets I cut myself)? I know the GRRF sells pre cut sheets, but the price + shipping might be a bit much for me.


Thanks a lot every one!

If you want to cut thin acrylic forget saws. i]It is easier to scribe it using a sharp knife and snap it over a straight edge. [fins.actwin.com] has a good description of cutting acrylic.

I figured the 1/8 inch acrylic might be too thin all together. So I tried some 1/2 inch plywood, but that didn't hold up to the drilling needed, it kind of shredded. So I read on some blog some where to try using MDF, I have a couple of sheets of that and I am going to try that when I get some time. I'm just not sure if this will also work for the bearing arms or not, Any way I will keep others updated here in case some one else runs into the same issues I am having.