How to cut polycarbonate for gazebo correctly. Laser cutting

How is the laying of polycarbonate on a canopy. step.by.step guide

One of the popular materials in recent years has become polycarbonate. It is used to arrange roofs of greenhouses, greenhouses, balconies, arbors, during the construction of household buildings, car awakes, etc.D. In order for the design to serve for a long time, you need to know how to properly lay polycarbonate on the roof.

First of all, you need to choose quality material. Then you should mount it and prepare for operation.

Choosing material for a canopy

The main thing is to pay attention to when buying these products, this is its thickness. The durability of the future design depends on this characteristic. Before laying polycarbonate, sheets of 4 mm thick should be purchased for canopies and greenhouses; for greenhouses-8 mm, for vertically located surfaces-10 mm and for the roofs of buildings-16 mm.

In any case, before laying polycarbonate, wind and snow load is calculated.

What is cut polycarbonate

A feature of polycarbonate is the fact that in order to cut it at home, you can use any construction tool.

• stationery or construction knife;
• electric jigsaw;
• corner grinding machine (corner grinder);
• a circular saw;
• hacksaw designed to work on metal.

If we consider industrial equipment, then you can use a milling machine that has a numerical software control and a special laser of several types.

It is worth considering the fact that there are a number of building tools that in no case cut polycarbonate. This is due to the fact that there is a high probability of damaging the sheet, as a result of which the quality will suffer greatly.

Many experts recommend refraining from use:

• Hacksaw designed to work on wood. as you know, such a model has quite large teeth, so that the material is not cut, but torn during operation. Ultimately, the slice will have a large number of cracks, zabrin and burrs.
• Building scissors or metal scissors. this option is perfect for thin monolithic polycarbonate. Cellular polymer material will be deformed from two sides.

Before cutting polycarbonate, you need to choose the right tool.

How to cut monolithic polycarbonate

If necessary, you can carry out the process of cutting monolithic polycarbonate at home. For these purposes, a disk saw that has small teeth is perfect. In order to not only cut the polymer material, but also achieve the best result, many experts recommend giving preference to teeth that are equipped with special hard inserts. Thanks to this approach, you can prevent an undesirable process of heating the material. If it is planned to cut a sheet, the thickness of which reaches up to 2 mm, then in this case it is recommended to simultaneously cut from 10 polycarbonate sheets. As practice shows, cutting several sheets at the same time is much easier and more convenient than one.

It is important to understand that if you cut a single polycarbonate sheet of small thickness, then the material can be covered with cracks during operation. In this case, it is best to use a guillotine cut, but this method has a significant drawback. the edges of the cut will be rough. If necessary, you can use a strip saw up to 2 cm wide.

Advice! For monolithic polycarbonate, the thickness of which exceeds 6 mm, it is recommended to use an electric tool.

How to cut cellular polycarbonate

If it is planned to cut cellular polycarbonate at home, it should be understood that this type of building material has a porous structure, as a result of which the process of work can be very specific. If the thickness of the material does not exceed 1 cm, then in this case you can do only with a clerical or construction knife with a retractable blade. When cutting cellular polycarbonate along the ribs of stiffness, it will be necessary to perform work in several stages.

The starting cutting should be carried out on the outer surface, after which a sheet of cellular polycarbonate is turned over and performed a similar action, only on the other side of the building material. Когда возникла необходимость резать поликарбонатный лист поперек ребер жесткости, то алгоритм действий будет включать уже 3 этапа. Thus, as in the previous version, the product is cut on both sides, after which they carefully cut the internal partition.

When a polymer product in thickness exceeds 1 cm, you will need to use a hacksaw for metal or wood, while the teeth must be divorced. In the presence of an electric tool, for example, an angular grinder or a jigsaw, it is possible to give preference to them, but at the same time the revolutions of the selected tool should be at the minimum level.

Preparation and marking of sheets

Before starting to cut polycarbonate on a greenhouse or any other structure, it is necessary to pre.carry out preparatory work and make the corresponding markup on the material.

First of all, it is necessary to completely clear the place where it is planned to cut the polymer material. All garbage and extra objects must be removed. This is necessary not because of considerations of purity, but so that during operation nothing distracts from the process. After the surface is prepared, it is necessary to put a sheet of plywood on it or a wood.fiber slab. Only after this, the place for cutting can be considered as even as possible.

A sheet of polycarbonate should be put on the workplace. In the event that the material has a laminated surface, a mirror or special coating, then this side should look up. Until that moment, until the material is cut, the protective film should remain in place.

Preliminary marking should initially be applied to a blank sheet of paper as a scheme in compliance with scale. After that, you will need to transfer all the marking from the paper sheet to polycarbonate. For measurements at home, it is best to use roulette or metal ruler. Black marker is used to apply markup. If it is planned to work with a large polycarbonate, then many experts recommend putting a board on a polymer material, 10 cm wide and move only along it. This approach will eliminate damage to polycarbonate.

In the place where it is planned to cut the sheet, it is required to put wooden boards about 4 cm high on the right and left side of the cut line 10 cm wide. The ends of the boards must look out on both sides of the polymer material.

Movement must be carried out on the board in the same way as at the time of application of the appropriate marking. This is the only way to not damage the material, carrying out all the work at home.

Attention! If the sheet lies on top of garbage and other objects, then dents may appear. So cut polycarbonate at home, it is unlikely that it will work.

How to cut the cutting?

Experts before cutting polycarbonate, pre.prepare a workplace well. Necessary:

• Remove all extraneous objects from the site: branches, segments of strips and boards, even small pebbles. Ideally, the place should be clean. This is necessary so that dents, scratches and other damage are not left on polycarbonate canvases. It is best to pave the workplace with sheets a wood-fiber slab, a wood-fiber plate or other material suitable for this purpose.
• Using a marker and a long line or other object on the panels, you need to mark. If you have to move along the canvases during this, you need to lay a wide board and walk along it so that dents do not appear on the surface of the polymer.
• Before performing polycarbonate cutting into size, it is necessary to put boards under both sides of the marking marker, the size of which should not be less than 4 × 10 × 220 cm. On top of the canvas in the same places, boards are placed again and, only then, it will be possible to move along them.
• If the cut is performed on a flat line. you can work with a corner grinder, rounded parts are held by an electric jigsaw, and if you need to perform a slight fit. the stationery knife is also suitable.
• If the work is performed on a material with a laminated or mirror surface, then it is very important to properly place the canvas at the workplace: a laminated or mirror coating should be turned upward. The better to cut polycarbonate of this type?The same tools as other types of material, but using a hacksaw is not permissible: a mirror or laminated layers can be detonated.
• When working with cells of cellular polymer plastic, if the cut is carried out along the length of the sheet, the marking can not be performed: the sot itself will serve as a guideline. Thanks to this, you can not even walk on the surface of the material.
• After the sawing of the cellular paintings is completed, it is necessary to blow out all the seams with compressed air to remove the dust and the chipping material that got inside.

And most importantly. before cutting polycarbonate with an electric jigsaw or corner grinding, you need to put on protective glasses to protect your eyes from microparticles and dust. And one more thing. you always need to remember popular wisdom, which says that before cutting off, you need to measure seven times. this will help save money and time.

Preparatory stage

First of all, you should prepare a design project, calculating the dimensions of each element of glazing. It is recommended to take into account the dimensions of the material (they are standard) to minimize the amount of waste. If the elements have curvilinear outlines, prepare the appropriate patterns of thick paper or cardboard. When preparing the material for the arched type greenhouse, special attention is paid to end elements with a semicircular top.

• The site where it is planned to cut polycarbonate plates is cleaned of garbage, aligned, covered with leaf material-plywood, wood-based plate, etc.D.
• A sheet of polycarbonate is placed on a flat solid surface if the material has a special layer that protects the material from aging under the influence of UV rays, pay attention to the labeling of the sides. the sheet should lie down with a protective layer upward. Similarly laid material with a mirror or laminated coating. A film that protects polycarbonate from mechanical influences during transportation and fastening is not removed until the end of installation work.
• They make markings according to the project using a black marker and a metal (or wooden) ruler, roulette, ready.made patterns of cardboard.

In order not to damage a large area of ​​polycarbonate sheet during the markings, a board is laid on top with a width of 100 mm and a length of about 2 thousand. mm and step only on it. This excludes the risk of deformation of the material, the appearance of scratches on the surface.

For the convenience of cutting polycarbonate in size, and in order not to damage the surface of the material, on both sides of the cut line, two parallel boards 40 × 100 × 2200 mm are placed under a polycarbonate. they must lift the panel on the site where it will be cut.

Choosing tools and cutting rules

Consider how and what is better to cut cellular polycarbonate and monolithic translucent polymer.

It is important that the tool does not spoil the material. for example, scissors for cutting plastic or construction scissors cannot be used, they compress cellular polycarbonate, deforming the edges of the cut.

A sawing tool with large teeth is also contraindicated, including a hacksaw on wood. it tears the material, the cut is uneven, with burrs and zazubsi.

• knife (mounting or stationery);
• corner grinding machine (corner grinder);
• circular saw;
• hacksaw for metal;
• electric jigsaw;
• laser.

The cutting method is selected based on the tool at the disposal, thickness and structure of the material.

Using a knife

For cutting polycarbonate, a stationery knife is used, in which the blade consists of broketing out segments. A construction knife is also suitable, it is more convenient to use thanks to an ergonomic handle. You can use a shoe knife.

For monolithic polycarbonate, this tool is not suitable, since the material is too hard and the work will require a lot of time and effort. It is convenient to cut cellular sheets of small thickness with a knife. no more than 6-8 mm.

Before cutting the panel, check the sharpness of the blade on unnecessary scraps. If necessary, sharpen the boot knife or remove the dull elements of the drawer blade. Use the rule or metal ruler for cutting in a straight line. The knife blade should be located at an angle to the surface. the thicker the material, the more the angle should be closer to the straight.

First, an incision is performed at the end, then, without removing the blades from the serif, they slowly lead it along the marking line. Irregularities and random extra fragments are removed after the element is cut out of the stove. If polycarbonate material is not cut from one entry, repeat the process according to the same scheme. It is impossible to disinfect, break the sheet, otherwise its edges will be strongly deformed.

If you need to cut the sheets of large area, it is better to choose a tool that will provide higher performance. In this case, the knife will be required in any case to remove the burrs and cut off the irregularities, adjusting the glazing element exactly to the specified dimensions.

Cutting corner grinding

To cut polycarbonate with an angle grinding machine, use circles designed to cut metal. Cut the panel with a corner grinding, without afraid to melt the edges of the polymer material, will help:

• the use of a cutting circle for working with aluminum (it is less heated during friction);
• The use of corner grinder with a speed regulator (work should be carried out at low speeds, this also reduces the risk of burrs).

It is convenient to cut a monolithic polycarbonate and cellular panels, including along a curved trajectory. When working, be sure to use protective glasses that protect your eyes from flying chips.

Having turned on the power tool, you should wait until it gains the necessary speed of rotation. Cut the leaf material by moving the corner grinder from yourself along the line of cutting. Cutting the panel along the jumpers, keep the tool so that the blade goes in a straight line without touching the ribs of stiffness.

At the end of the work, check the evenness of the sections, remove the chips and dust that fall into the cells using a blower or vacuum cleaner.

The use of circular saw

The circular saw should be equipped with a working disc with small cloves. use wheels designed to work with plastic or metal. To cut a monolithic or cellular panel, act on the same principle as when working with a corner grinder. First, let the tool pick up the tools, then cut the pancreas raised using two boards, moving the tool from yourself. Press the supporting plate of the tool to the sheet. this will help more precisely cut the material along the drawn contour.

Using metal hacksaw

A hacksaw equipped with a canvas with small frequent cloves will help cut off a straight line of polycarbonate, cut a sheet along or across. Elements of complex outlines with this tool cannot be cut out.

When planning the cutting of polycarbonate at home using a hacksaw, pay attention to the following moment: so that the cutting line for the cutting trimmer is as flat as possible, it is necessary to firmly fix the panel. It is recommended to use clamps and boards. The canvas of the hacksaw is located at an angle of about 30 degrees. Drink the panel in the direction of yourself.

Using a hacksaw, you can cut a polycarbonate for a greenhouse with a pitched roof, since the tool cuts the material only in a straight line. Electrolobsik will help to cut semicircular end elements of arched structures.

The use of a knife habits for metal is permissible with a small cut length. For a long cut, use a knife on wood, but with small teeth.

Cutting with an electrician

The most suitable tool for cutting polycarbonate on elements of complex shapes is an electric jigsaw. The tool equipped with a thin saw is safer and convenient in operation compared to the angular grinding and circular saw, while the speed and complexity of cutting significantly differs for the better with a knife. Electrician is allowed to cut a monolithic and cellular polycarbonate.

When choosing a file, pay attention to the shape of the cloves. Divorced teeth are designed for wood, they will tear polycarbonate, making the edges of the cut to defective. To make cuts with even edges without burrs and cracks, use a file with small straight or wave.shaped cloves.

Cutting an electric jigsaw

This tool allows you to combine three positive qualities that the corner grinder and the construction knife are provided, namely the cutting speed, safety and simplicity of involving. Using an electric jigsaw, you can easily draw not only straight lines, but also cut out other more complex figures from different varieties of material. It can be used for a sawing polycarbonate with a thickness of 3 mm. If the sheets are too thin, then in this case, with its help, it is better to cut several pieces at the same time, after laying a cardboard of the corresponding size under them.

However, before cutting polycarbonate, it is necessary to choose a suitable file that plays one of the key roles. When choosing it, it is required to take into account a number of the following tips and recommendations:

• To cut cellular polycarbonate, it is better to give preference to a file with the presence of straight teeth. This cutting element provides slight cringing of the material and helps to make the maximum spray.
• It is necessary to choose files with frequent and small teeth. Cellular polycarbonate should be cut with cutting elements with TPI labeling, which indicates the number of teeth per inch. In this case, this indicator should be from 9 to 13 or more.
• It is necessary to give preference to high.quality files, which are designed for cutting metal, plastic or organic glass, which will provide clean cut with a minimum amount of shortcomings.

The very process of cutting polycarbonate using an electric jigsaw is as follows:

• Initially, it is necessary to prepare the place in which work will be carried out, after which it is required to mark the sheet.
• Then you need to install a pre.prepared saw in the tool. It is recommended to use a new and sharp cutting element that has no defects yet. In this case, the file must be securely fixed and adjusted. With incorrect fixation during the work of the jigsaw, it will begin to vibrate and will cause the appearance of various shortcomings on the surface of the material.
• The tool connected to the outlet or carrying should be brought to the end of the polycarbonate sheet along the sawing lane. For greater comfort, it is advisable to make a cutting in the indicated place using a knife with a sharp blade. In this case, before the end of the cut, the protective film should also remain on the material.
• Next, press the supporting tile of the tool to polycarbonate. In this case, it is not necessary to apply a very great effort, since otherwise the sheet along the cut of the cut is bending. It is recommended that there are clamps or people who would help to exclude vibration and shift of the material during work.
• At the next stage, you need to turn on the tool and wait for the moment when it gains suitable speed. As soon as the jigsaw reaches them, you can proceed to cut into polycarbonate in the intended strip. The tool should be carefully and slowly forward, making its supporting plate to the plane of the material.

note! In curved areas, it is necessary to observe the maximum caution, having previously prepared in cutting parts of a rounded shape on future surpluses and remnants, due to which it will be easier to carry out work.

• At the end of the cutting, you need to turn off and disconnect the tool from the mains.
• Then the cells of the material must be cleaned of chips by means of a vacuum cleaner or a jet of compressed air.
• Next, it is required to cut excess and remove the shortcomings from the edges of the sawed polycarbonate. After that, they should be covered with construction tape, which will protect the cells from the penetration of dust and garbage.

Important! With the simultaneous cut of only one thin sheet, there is a high probability of cracking it.

Sawing polycarbonate by means of hacksaw

In some cases, this tool is also used when cutting polycarbonate sheets on square and rectangular parts. The process itself is very much like the one that happens during the use of a construction knife, so if there is a need for its use, then you should first consider the phased instructions described earlier.

In addition, when using a hacksaw, 2 nuances must be taken into account:

• During the saw, the tool must be kept at an angle of about 30 °.
• Before carrying out work, polycarbonate should be fixed as reliably as possible. If possible, it is desirable to consolidate the sheet in the vice of the workbench.

Without the experience of carrying out such work before involving a hacksaw, it is necessary to thoroughly practice, since otherwise there is a high probability that the material will crack along the cutting line and will be unsuitable for further use. In this situation, it is important to carry out competent fixation of polycarbonate in order to avoid excessive vibration and stress.

note! Close.cut out complex forms will not have a aesthetic look. For them it is necessary to use one of the previously indicated tools.

Polycarbonate cutting an electric jigsaw

To cut monolithic polycarbonate of large thickness, they often use an eclectic jigsaw. Due to a powerful drive, cutting is achieved without the application of human efforts. Thin products, as well as cell panels, are best placed in a pack and cut several elements at once. It is not recommended to cut single thin sheets, in order to avoid cracking at the site.

The use of electrolobesics significantly reduces the complexity and increases the efficiency of construction. Rationally resort to such a method of sawing polycarbonate paintings when performing large.scale work.

Features of cutting a plastic canvas using an electrolobian:

Using corner grinder for cutting polycarbonate

Corner grinder is a high.performance tool for cutting materials. Efficiency is achieved due to huge revolutions of the cutting circle during work. However, there are some subtleties that should be taken into account when working.

Correctly cut polycarbonate with an angle grinding machine in compliance with the following recommendations:

How to cut polycarbonate correctly

Let’s step by step look at how to cut a polycarbonate sheet correctly:

• We clear the site for a sheet (s) of polycarbonate. We remove stones and extraneous objects that can leave traces on the panels. Ideally, it is better to pierce the site with sheets of a wood-fiber slab, a wood-cutting plate, or a mustache can.
• We make the necessary marking on the panel with a marker with the use of I sank or any even object. If necessary, we move along the panels with a wide board (moving along it) so as not to make dents on the surface of the plastic.
• Before cutting polycarbonate, we put under the panels on both sides of the marker marking of the board, at least 40x100x2200. On top of the panel, we put another board on top of the bottoms of the boards from above (at least 20x100x2200), in order to move along it during cutting. If you need to cut it on a flat line, then we use a corner grinder. If a rounded or curly cutting is required, use an electrician, and for a slight fitting sheets we use a stationery knife.
• With an even cut along the entire sheet, that is, along the honeycomb, the use of a marker is not required. As a rule, you can safely make a cut along the honeycombs themselves with a corner grinder, an electrician or knife, since the honeycombs themselves in this case will serve as a guide for the cut. This must be done so that it would not be stomping over the sheets of polycarbonate once again.
• Of course, after the sawing, you need to remove the chips and dust by purging with compressed air.

So in this article we figured out how to cut polycarbonate, and most importantly, how to cut polycarbonate sheets correctly.

In conclusion, I want to remind you of another important thing, as you know, “we mark it seven times, we cut off once”. So, do not forget this wisdom, because polycarbonate sheets are not cheap pleasure, and their spoilage will become a good penny.

Yes, I almost forgot, when cutting a corner grinder or an electrician, be sure to put on the goggles. They will undoubtedly protect you from dust and microparticles. Well, that’s all. Good luck in a difficult, but necessary business!

Than and how to cut. The main recommendations

Carrying polycarbonate, it is worth performing the following actions:

• The place of work should be clean and not contain any garbage. This will avoid the appearance of cracks, dents and deformation. For convenience, a drywall, a wood-and-fiber slab can be placed under a sheet of polycarbonate.
• Before cutting on a polycarbonate, you need to mark with a marker, which will be clearly visible.
• In those cases when in the future it will be necessary to move along a sheet of polycarbonate, you need to lay a plank flooring on top of it, which will allow distributing the load. Then no dents or cracks on the material will not appear.
• Cut the cutting from the side of the laminated or mirror coating. Before the end of work, you should also not shoot a protective film.
• After the cutting of the material is completed, waste and dust must be removed from the surface of the sheet, as well as shake out the garbage from the cells.

If you need to drill polycarbonate, you will need standard metal drill. This process is even for a beginner.

Pay attention only to a few nuances:

• You need to make holes in the intervals between stiffeners;
• At least 4 cm must be back from the edge of the sheet so that the piece of the stove does not break.

Polycarbonate fastening tips

Fixation of polycarbonate sheets should be performed with self.tapping screws. It is noteworthy that the diameter of the screws should exceed the cross section of the hole in the polycarbonate by 1-2 mm. This allows you to compensate for the expansion of the material when heated.

In addition, it is very important that the entering the self.tapping screw into the polycarbonate sheet is free. Otherwise, the hole that is not properly drilled can lead to deformation of the material.

Laying polycarbonate must be performed VST, however, for thermal expansion of the material, gaps should be left. This approach will avoid errors in the installation of polycarbonate.

To seal the joints of the material, use neoprene or silicone ribbons. Do not use soft sealing materials from PVC, since as they operate polycarbonate, they emit substances that gradually destroy the material.

Sealing compounds for isolation of polycarbonate joints can only be silicone and no other.

How to cut polycarbonate

It is known that polycarbonate is shockproof material, which is firmly more 200 times. It cannot be broken, split even in the most severe weather conditions. This property allows you to easily cut PC lists, without worrying about cracking, rupture. In this article we will help you find out how to cut polycarbonate sheets using a circular saw and a jigsaw.

When cutting long sheets, circular saw is the best option. This will lead to a cleaner and more precise cut. You need a disc with thin teeth of a standard size 250-300 millimeters. Use a saw at a recommended speed of 4000 revolutions per minute, and you will get a good smooth cut. In addition, due to the features of the material, polycarbonate will not crack or crush around the section. It is the saw that determines the cutting speed, therefore, the feed rate, which should be about 8 meters per minute or 10-15 centimeters per second.

Another way to cut polycarbonate sheets using a jigsaw. When using a jigsaw, it is important that the sheet is tightly pressed during cutting. If the sheet moves up and down along with the saw disk during cutting, this will not lead to a good cut and a desirable result. Thus, you must keep the sheet tightly pressed, which can be achieved using boards and clamps. To cut a jigsaw, you need to take a saw disk with small teeth made of non.ferrous metals. It is necessary to set the average speed of the saw and allow it to slowly move along the sheet, leaving the base of the jigsaw on the sheet.

In addition to the circular saw/jigsaw, which will be needed for cutting sheets, wooden strips, clamps, protective equipment to protect the eyes, face, hands, legs will be required. Despite the fact that cutting polycarbonate is simple and safe, it will not hurt to be careful.