01
You can see the cut from across the room
A hot beam leaves a white or frosted edge on clear PMMA. On a light guide or a front panel that edge stays visible after assembly, and the part has to be remade or hand-polished, which adds days.
Acrylic & PMMA Sheet Cutting
Acrylic Laser Cutting
We cut clear, tinted and opalescent PMMA sheet into brackets, covers, light guides and display parts. Flame-polished edges on straight cuts, drilled and tapped holes on the same drawing, one prototype or 10,000 pieces.
PMMA 1–20 mm±0.005 mm toleranceNo minimum orderQuotation in 12 hoursParts ship in 3–5 days
15 yearsCutting and machining plastics since 2011
127High-precision CNC machines in three plants
±0.005 mmAchievable tolerance on finished parts
99.99%Qualification rate before shipment
Where acrylic parts fail
Four Problems That Show Up After Cutting
Most acrylic rejects come from heat and handling, not from the drawing.
02
The part cracks at the hole, not at the profile
Acrylic is brittle. A hole drilled too fast, or a screw tightened into an undersized hole, starts a craze line. Two weeks later the panel is in the field with a crack running from the fastener.
03
The sheet bows after a wide cut
Heat from a slow, high-power pass puts stress into cast sheet. A 300 mm cover comes off the bed flat and sits 1–2 mm off the frame a day later. Gaskets and seals no longer close the gap.
04
The first article is perfect, the fiftieth is not
Lens focus drifts, nozzle tips wear, and nobody re-measures. Hole positions creep, some panels fit and some do not. Your assembly line starts sorting parts by hand instead of building.
How we hold the edge
Cut Clean, Then Machine What the Beam Cannot Hold
Laser for the profile. CNC for the holes that must stay on center.
Process control
Laser Cutting With the Heat Under Control
Clear PMMA cuts best when the beam moves fast and the power stays low. A slow pass melts more material than it removes, and that is where the white edge comes from. We run cast and extruded sheet on separate settings, and adjust for thickness rather than running one program across the whole range.
Straight profiles come off the bed with a flame-polished edge on cast acrylic. Tight inner corners and dense hole patterns are a different story, and we will tell you when the beam cannot hold the tolerance you drew.
- 1Sheet from 1 mm to 20 mmCast and extruded PMMA, clear, tinted, opalescent or colored.
- 2Laser kerf 0.2–0.4 mmCompensated in the program, so the finished outline matches the drawing.
- 3Corner radius 0.5 mm minimumSharper than that and we route it instead.
Secondary operations
Holes, Counterbores and Threads on the Same Drawing
A laser-cut outline with hand-drilled holes is not a finished part. We move the blank to a CNC mill or a drill press and cut the holes, counterbores, pockets and edge chamfers dry, with cutters ground for plastic. That holds hole position and stops the cracking that starts at a hole cut with the wrong feed.
Threads in acrylic need a coarser pitch than the same size in aluminum. We tap with the right tap, not the one that was already in the machine, and we deburr the back side before the part leaves the bench.
- 1Hole position ±0.05 mmHeld after the laser cut, on the finished profile.
- 2Tapped threads M3 to M12Coarse pitch, cut taps, no thread rolling in plastic.
- 3Edge polish and flame treatmentFor light guides and clear covers where the edge is visible.
Choosing the process
Laser or CNC Router for Your PMMA Part
Both run in the same shop floor. Pick by feature, not by habit.
| Feature | Laser cut | CNC routed |
|---|---|---|
| Straight outline, clear edge | Flame polished | Visible tool marks |
| Hole position | ±0.1 mm | ±0.05 mm |
| Inner corner | 0.5 mm radius minimum | 0.2 mm radius possible |
| Sheet thickness | 1–20 mm | 2–50 mm |
| Engraved text or logos | Yes, shallow depth | Yes, with V-bits |
| Best fit | Panels, covers, displays | Thick blocks, tight holes |
What we run
Acrylic and Plastic Work We Take On
Same shop handles the cut, the machining and the finish.
01
Sheet Laser Cutting
Clear, tinted and opalescent PMMA profiles up to 4,000 mm long. Straight edges come off the bed polished. We nest parts on the sheet to cut waste on multi-part orders.
02
PMMA CNC Milling
Pockets, counterbores, slots and stepped profiles on cast sheet. Dry cutting with plastic-specific tooling keeps the surface clear instead of hazy.
03
Drilling and Tapping
Hole patterns held to ±0.05 mm, tapped M3 to M12 with coarse pitch. We deburr both faces so no chip sits under a gasket.
04
Edge Polishing
Flame and mechanical polishing for light guides and clear covers. We match the finish on the cut edge to the face so the part reads as one piece.
05
Engraving and Marking
Laser marking for part numbers, scales and logos, minimum character height 1.5 mm. Depth is shallow enough to leave the sheet flat.
06
Prototype to Production
One piece or 10,000+. No minimum order quantity. The first article is measured and the report travels with the run.
Capability
Acrylic Cutting and Machining Range
Numbers you can check against your drawing.
| Item | Range | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Sheet thickness | 1–20 mm | Laser cut |
| Maximum part size | 4,000 mm | Long panels and covers |
| General tolerance | ±0.1 mm | Laser cut profile |
| Machined tolerance | ±0.005 mm | CNC holes and pockets |
| Surface finish | Ra 0.8–1.6 μm | Machined faces |
| Edge condition | Flame polished | Straight cast PMMA cuts |
| Minimum hole | 1.0 mm | Laser, thinner sheet |
| Threads | M3–M12 | Coarse pitch, cut taps |
Why GreatLight
Six Reasons Engineers Send Us the Drawing
15Y
Plastics Since 2011
Fifteen years cutting and machining sheet, rod and plate. Settings for cast and extruded PMMA are written down, not guessed each time.
±0.005
Tolerance on Machined Features
Holes, pockets and steps held to ±0.005 mm when the drawing needs it. Laser profiles quoted at ±0.1 mm.
12H
Quotation and DFM Analysis
Send a drawing and get a price plus manufacturability notes within 12 hours. Production can start within 24 hours of approval.
100%
Inspection Before Shipment
Raw material check, in-process monitoring, final inspection. Reports on request for every lot.
1–10k
No Minimum Order Quantity
One prototype and a 10,000-piece run go through the same setup sheet and the same inspection.
3
Wholly-Owned Plants
Dongguan plus a Singapore factory. 7,600 m² of floor and 150 technicians across the group.
7,600 m²Manufacturing space
150Technicians and engineers
3–5 daysTypical ship time after start
<2%Historical late-delivery probability
Where the parts go
Industry Requirements and What We Deliver
Electronics Enclosures
Clear front panels and light guides where the edge has to disappear in the assembly.
- Edge flame polished
- Hole position ±0.05 mm
Industrial Machinery Guards
Long PMMA windows and covers for machine doors, cut to fit existing frames.
- Up to 4,000 mm
- Sheet 1–20 mm
Display and Retail Fixtures
Nested parts cut from one sheet, with engraved scales and logos on the same pass.
- Nested to cut waste
- Marking 1.5 mm min
Medical Device Covers
Clear covers where flatness matters because a gasket has to seal against the face.
- Flatness checked
- 100% inspection
FAQs
Questions Engineers Ask Before Ordering
What thickness of acrylic can you laser cut?
We cut PMMA sheet from 1 mm to 20 mm. Below 3 mm the edge is easy to keep clean. Above 12 mm the kerf widens and the edge picks up more color, so we often route the profile instead and cut only the holes with the laser.
If your part is thicker than 20 mm, send the drawing anyway. A CNC routed profile usually costs less than trying to force the laser through it.
Will the cut edge be clear or white?
On cast PMMA, straight cuts come off the bed with a flame-polished edge. Curves and tight corners are cooler and can look slightly frosted. We can polish those edges afterward.
Extruded sheet behaves differently from cast sheet. Tell us which one you are buying, or let us source the sheet, and the settings change with it.
How tight a tolerance can you hold on a laser-cut profile?
Quote laser-cut profiles at ±0.1 mm. That covers the kerf compensation and normal sheet movement.
For anything tighter, we cut the outline on the laser and machine the critical features on a CNC mill. Machined holes and pockets hold ±0.005 mm when the drawing calls for it.
Can you drill and tap holes in the same part?
Yes. Holes, counterbores, slots and threads are cut after the laser pass, on the finished profile, so hole position stays tied to the outline.
Acrylic needs a coarser thread pitch than metal. We tap M3 to M12 with cut taps and deburr both faces before packing.
What drawing format do you need?
STEP, IGES, DXF, DWG and PDF all work. For sheet parts a DXF with the outline, hole positions and material thickness is the fastest route to a quote.
If you only have a PDF, we will redraw the outline and send it back for approval before cutting.
How do you keep clear acrylic from scratching in transit?
Parts are masked with protective film where the sheet comes masked, and separated with foam or paper between layers. Hardware is packed so nothing metal touches a clear face.
Tell us if the part is a visible cosmetic panel. Packing changes for those, and the inspection step adds a check under raking light.
Do you have a minimum order quantity?
No. We run one prototype and we run 10,000 pieces and up. The setup sheet and the inspection steps are the same either way.
Small runs ship in 3–5 days once production starts. Larger runs get a schedule with the quote.
Can you sign an NDA before I send files?
Yes. Uploads are secure and confidential, and we will sign an NDA on request before you share the drawing.
We do not publish customer names, part numbers or drawings. If you need a written agreement first, ask and we will send one.
Send the Drawing, Get a Price in 12 Hours
Upload your DXF or STEP file and we will come back with a price, a lead time and manufacturability notes. No minimum order quantity, and the first article is measured before the run ships.
12-hour quote100% inspectionNo minimum orderNDA on request
