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Cast Acrylic Sheet
Pixel

Created by

Pixel

22. September 2026FI
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Cast Acrylic Sheet

Otto Röhm had worked on acrylic chemistry since his 1901 doctorate. His firm first used polymethacrylate as the sticky middle layer of laminated safety glass - and noticed that the polymer came away from the glass plates cleanly, leaving a clear sheet as smooth as the glass. Sold from 1933 as Plexiglas, the sheet went into aircraft canopies within the decade. **US 2,154,639**, "Process for the manufacture of polymerization products", Röhm and Bauer, assigned to Röhm & Haas, filed 4. December 1935, granted 18. April 1939: methacrylic esters polymerised between sheets of glass and then separated from them, for "glass substitutes" whose faces are "as highly polished as the surfaces of the glass itself". **You use that polish**: an edge-lit sign whose engraving glows while the smooth faces stay dark, and two heat-bent offcuts that show how tight a bend the light survives.
Beginner
3 hours

Instructions

1

Cut the panel

Keep the protective film on. Score 3 mm cast acrylic 200 x 120 mm with the utility knife against a ruler, 8 to 10 passes, then snap it over the bench edge. Cut two 100 x 30 mm offcuts the same way.

Materials for this step:

Acrylic SheetAcrylic Sheet1 piece

Tools needed:

Utility KnifeUtility Knife
Steel RulerSteel Ruler
Clear Safety GlassesClear Safety Glasses
2

Polish the light edge

Sand the 120 mm bottom edge flat, then run the Micro-Mesh grits in order until it is clear. Light enters here; a frosted edge scatters it at the door.

Tools needed:

Micro-Mesh Sanding Kit (9 Grits)Micro-Mesh Sanding Kit (9 Grits)
3

Engrave the back

Peel the back film. Draw your design on paper, tape it under the sheet, and trace it with the engraving point at medium speed, light pressure.

Tools needed:

Rotary Tool (Dremel-style)Rotary Tool (Dremel-style)
Engraving PointEngraving Point
Clear Safety GlassesClear Safety Glasses
4

Slot the base

Cut a pine block 160 x 60 x 40 mm. Saw two parallel kerfs 3.5 mm apart, 15 mm deep, along its length and chisel out between them. Chisel a channel underneath for the LED strip to shine up into the slot.

Materials for this step:

Pine BoardPine Board1 piece

Tools needed:

Hand SawHand Saw
Chisel Set - WoodChisel Set - Wood
5

Light it

Strip 5V, GND and DIN to the Uno's 5V, GND and D6. Install the Adafruit NeoPixel library and upload. Stand the panel in the slot.
edge_lit_panel.inocpp
// Edge-lit acrylic panel - batch 98, US 2,154,639
// A short WS2812B strip under the panel's bottom edge. Data -> D6 through the strip's own input.
#include <Adafruit_NeoPixel.h>

const int PIN = 6;
const int COUNT = 8;          // LEDs under the 120 mm edge
Adafruit_NeoPixel strip(COUNT, PIN, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800);

void setup() {
  strip.begin();
  strip.setBrightness(60);    // keep well under full power when run from USB
}

void loop() {
  // slow colour wheel: the engraving glows, the polished faces stay dark
  for (long hue = 0; hue < 65536; hue += 256) {
    strip.fill(strip.gamma32(strip.ColorHSV(hue)));
    strip.show();
    delay(30);
  }
}

Materials for this step:

Neopixel LED StripNeopixel LED Strip1 piece
Dupont Jumper Wire Set (M-F)Dupont Jumper Wire Set (M-F)1 set

Tools needed:

Arduino Uno R3Arduino Uno R3
SparkFun Cerberus USB Cable - 1.8 meterSparkFun Cerberus USB Cable - 1.8 meter
6

Bend two offcuts

Heat an offcut along a line on the strip heater, turning it over every 30 seconds, until it flexes. Bend it 90° round a 6 mm dowel and hold until cool. Bend the second round a 20 mm dowel.

Materials for this step:

Wooden DowelWooden Dowel1 piece

Tools needed:

Acrylic Strip HeaterAcrylic Strip Heater
Welding GlovesWelding Gloves
7

Trace the beam

In a dim room shine the laser pointer into the end of each bent strip, never towards anyone's eyes. See where light escapes at the bend, and compare with the notebook.

Tools needed:

Laser PointerLaser Pointer
8

Critical angle and bends

Loading Jupyter Notebook...
9

History & Context

**What the patent specifies:** methacrylic esters polymerised between glass sheets and separated, giving a glass substitute with glass-polished faces. **Modern build (derived):** commercial cast acrylic sheet, cut and heat-bent. Cast sheet is still made between glass plates; cheaper extruded sheet came later and is softer and more prone to crazing. The limits: acrylic scratches, cracks if drilled carelessly, crazes when solvents or stress meet, and burns.
Step 9 - Image 1

Materials

5

Tools Required

13

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