Acrylic "Push Thru" Letter signs

[Dranos]

Hi all,

I've been doing some research on various types of signs and came across 'push thru' signs. The problem is that the examples of these signs I found refer to plasma cutting as the method.

Are these signs possible with my Shopbot? I client of mine has expressed interest in this type of sign.

Thanks in advance.

[knight_toolworks]

you would do it with separate letters without a problem. I don't think you could do it in one piece without a industrial laser.

[bleeth]

I did a whole string of these for a project last year. I cut the inserts individually and left a flange on the back. After the field was cut I used a plastic adhesive to secure the letters into the field. It worked out perfect. In my case I used Artcam Pro and the inlay toolpath generator that is built in and set tolerance in one of the the parts at .05. It worked perfectly.

[jerry_stanek]

I did some push through letters for a trade show the red part is push through. The logo is about 30 x 36. It is cut from .75 clear acrylic with a .062 skin left on to hold it in.

[joe]

Adrain,

It's not possible to plazma cut letters with a lip. This is a router job.

[Dranos]

Thanks a million guys. I have another question, how do I prevent push thru letters from falling into the sign? Is therea recommended boding agent that will work between the acrylic and the aluminum?

Thanks.

[Dranos]

Dave Rosenbleeth, I'm not sure I understand what you suggested in your post.

[bleeth]

The signs I did were in Helvetica font as well as some logos. Each letter was cut individually. The field differed in different signs but it was aluminum in two of them. I cut the fields using a 3/16 o-flute and used the same bit on the plastic. When I cut the plastic I first cut the toolpath generated by Artcam which I had put in a .05 tolerance so the letters wouldn't be too tight. They were 3/4" Acrylic and I cut them 11/16 deep. I then offset the toolpath 1/4" and cut all the way through. This gave me a flange on each letter which I glued to the Aluminum by pushing through from the back and used clear silicone like a caulk bead after they were pushed in. It worked very well. When I did other signs with an Acrylic field I used an Acrylic bonding agent which has a consistancy rather waterlike. I pushed the letter through and ran a small bead of the adhesive around the edges of the flange with a hypodermic needle. It actually ran under the flange like osmosis but did not drip down to the face. It also bonded very well. I don't know the name of the adhesive as I got enough from a helpful neighbor who is in the Acrylic business.

[beacon14]

I think that's capillary action, not osmosis.

[Greencarvings]

The solvent welder for acrylic is weldon #3 or weldon #4.

It is capillary action.

It is a mixture of methyl chloride and acedic acid and a couple out components. But if you use a lot you just mix soem methyl chloride and acedic acid.

using a 20/25 gauge needle in an applicator bottle.

[wcsg]

Maybe these can help

http://www.thesignsyndicate.com/forums/index.php?/topic/2604-push-thru-adhesive/

http://www.thesignsyndicate.com/forums/index.php?/topic/1936-gluing-letter-faces-to-plastic-back/

http://www.thesignsyndicate.com/forums/index.php?/topic/1664-finally-getting-installed


http://www.thesignsyndicate.com/forums/index.php?/topic/3302-lobby-sign/

[joe]

Erik,

Why is it necessary, on your forum, to register and sign up in order to view the posts. This is the only site I've seen that is so restrictive. I stay as far away from sights like that as I can. The reason being, they always want something from the viewer.

NO THANKS!

[wcsg]

Erik,

Why is it necessary, on your forum, to register and sign up in order to view the posts. This is the only site I've seen that is so restrictive. I stay as far away from sights like that as I can. The reason being, they always want something from the viewer.

NO THANKS!

Not the whole site requires that, but the simple answer to "why" is, because the Sign Syndicate is an Electric Sign TRADE forum. Not a public forum such as this one.