Cutting Acrylic

[David Rust]

Quick question....

I may land a small job (500 pieces) cutting extruded acrylic. When I cut some sample test runs the stink is very strong and irritates my throat. I have a pretty good size exhaust system however the exhaust dumps just outside my house and sometimes tends to circulate back around if the wind is just so...

Question: Is it normal for extruded acrylic to smell so pungent and irritate the throat?

I very rarely cut acrylic so I figured I'd ask.

Thanks

[Sandy Henry]

Harmful to your health!! Some people are more sensitive than others but the fumes contain nasty stuff. Probably affects everyone - even the ones that don't notice any immediate symptoms. Wait for the wind to change or wear a nice respirator with charcoal filters then air out your house when finished.

[Dan Hintz]

You need a carbon filter before you screw up your lungs... see my blog post on making your own filter.

[Mike Null]

I don't have a problem with acrylics or anything else from the laser but at the table saw I have to wear a mask. Take a look at some full face respirators and find one that meets your specs.

[Mark Ross]

We made Dan's Scrubbers. We cut acrylic 8-10 hours a day. Stinky stuff...

[Brian Robison]

Extruded stinks more than cast too for some reason.

[Doug Griffith]

Yep, extruded acrylic stinks quite a bit. Rubber modified acrylic stinks even more.

[David Rust]

Thanks all! For now I think I'll get ~100ft of dryer duct andrun it out beyond my back shed down wind of the house... I'll check out Dan's carbon filter blog.

[Larry Bratton]

Geez...I have cut 1000's of pieces of cast and extruded in the past 6 yrs or so and have never had any bad effects from it. I do have a pretty good exhaust system to the outside and I never notice the smell...if I do..it smells like U.S. Currency to me.

[Dave Sheldrake]

Geez...I have cut 1000's of pieces of cast and extruded in the past 6 yrs or so and have never had any bad effects from it.

Glow in the dark watch painters never suffered any ill effects from their work either.....until it killed them.

MSDS for acrylic of all types from Perspex.

http://www.perspex.co.uk/technical-library/product-range-(1)/

cheers

Dave

[Larry Bratton]

OMG...must be what's making my hair turn grey,,,but wait..could it be that I'm knocking on 70 yrs old. I been checking my acrylic sheets this afternoon and somebody must have removed the warning labels off of it..didn't find em. Calling the supplier first thing Tueday.

Glow in the dark watch painters never suffered any ill effects from their work either.....until it killed them.

MSDS for acrylic of all types from Perspex.

http://www.perspex.co.uk/technical-library/product-range-(1)/

cheers

Dave

[Dave Sheldrake]

You have 20+ years on me Larry and likely more hair than me as well ;)

cheers

Dave

[Dan Hintz]

Glow in the dark watch painters never suffered any ill effects from their work either.....until it killed them.

Licking the brush to keep a fine point didn't exactly help their case, either...

[Larry Bratton]

Yeah, I try to refrain from eating my acrylic..too crunchy for me. Not to mention it's bad on my dentures..LOL!

Licking the brush to keep a fine point didn't exactly help their case, either...

[Larry Bratton]

Well you got a long way to go son..keep on wearin that mask and maybe you will outlast me. (I got all my hair..the acrylic has made it fall out YET..maybe tomorrow ?

You have 20+ years on me Larry and likely more hair than me as well ;)

cheers

Dave

[Rich Enders]

David,

I just did a review of the MSDS's for the common acrylics, and I could not verify the concerns that some of your readers expressed. I reviewed the three basic types of chemistry for thermoplastic types (including impact modified) and the thermoset type. On the Pespec site referenced I was unable to find an MSDS for the basic polymers.

I would like to know more about this issue.

[Michael Hunter]

From the Perspex site as linked to before -

"
3. HAZARDS IDENTIFICATION
Low toxicity under normal conditions of handling and use. Thermal decomposition will evolve toxic, irritant and flammable
vapours. Care should be taken during thermoforming to ensure that the product is not exposed to temperatures exceeding
200°C.
Certain machining operations eg laser cutting, can give rise to toxic and corrosive fumes. Adequate ventilation MUST be
used.
"

Maybe it misses out the cancer word, but it certainly does not sound good.
This is for clear - some of the colours may well have extra hazards.

[Mark Ward]

Resurecting an old thread here. When cutting acrylic yesterday the smell wasn't great. Would this type of respirator be something that we should be looking at wearing just for when we are dealing with acrylic? http://www.screwfix.com/p/3m-4251-maintenance-free-organic-vapour-particulate-respirator-p2/13038#