So, I have several different instances where I am cutting out acrylic mirror shapes, and also, need to "etch" shapes or words into the acrylic coating in order to paint the acrylic. Example attached.
On that project, I cut a pocket in the coated side of the mirror about .040 deep using a 1/4" O-Flute bit. It came out great!
These new projects are much smaller, so a 1/4" bit is too large. So, I'm using a 1/8" O-flute and having mixed results. Generally, when pocketing, I have it offset 80% of the bit diameter per pass (so, .1" in this case). The worst results come when choosing "offset". The generated toolpaths end up having some - I guess you would call it - abrupt direction changes, and that leaves small divots in the back of the mirror that show up through the paint.
When I have manually offset the toolpaths, making sure there were no direction changes or Z-up and Z-down moves during the pocketing, results have been better.
My question is whether there is a better bit to do the material removal on the back of the acrylic mirror to leave a more uniform surface? Also, do y'all think that "raster" is a better method for toolpathing for this purpose? I'd prefer to not have to create manual toolpaths if I can avoid it (time consuming).
Cutting Acrylic Mirror - preparing for paint
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