What kinds of holes can you cut in acrylic?
Laser-cut round holes
Most holes we make are cut by the laser along with the outline, in the same pass. Nothing touches the sheet, so there's no chipping on the back face and no bit to grab and crack thin acrylic. The wall of the hole comes out glossy, and the hole lands where your drawing puts it, typically within ±0.005 in. Clearance holes for screws, standoffs, cables, and hanging hardware are all round holes.
Countersunk holes
A countersink is a cone cut into the top of a hole so a flat-head screw sits flush with the face. Choose the screw size in the designer and we size the through hole to clear it. The cone needs enough sheet under it to hold the screw, so countersunk holes need sheet 3/16 in. or thicker. On thinner sheet, use a pan-head screw with a nylon washer.
Threaded (tapped) holes
We drill at the right tap drill size for the thread and cut the threads, so a machine screw goes straight into the acrylic with no nut. The threads we offer:
| Inch threads | Metric threads |
|---|---|
| #4-40 | M3 |
| #6-32 | M4 |
| #8-32 | M5 |
| #10-24, #10-32 | M6 |
| 1/4-20 |
Tapped holes need sheet 1/4 in. or thicker, because thinner sheet doesn't have enough threads to hold. Threads in acrylic suit parts you assemble once or now and then, like lids, covers, and enclosure panels. For screws that come out often or carry heavy load, a through bolt with a nut holds far better. How to tap threads in acrylic explains why.
Slots and cut-outs
Anything that isn't round is a cut-out: vent slots, adjustment slots, switch openings, a window in a panel. Pick a shape with a cut-out in the designer, or draw the opening in your file and upload it.
How to order acrylic with holes
In the part designer
The part designer has 20 shapes. Type the size, then place each hole by its X and Y position measured from the lower-left corner of the part, so it lands exactly where you need it. Quick patterns add holes in one click:
- 4 corners, for panels and signs
- Top corners, for hanging
- Center
- Rows and grids, for vents and pegs
For each hole, choose round (any diameter), countersunk, or threaded and pick the screw size. The designer draws a dimensioned drawing and a 3D preview as you type, checks every hole against the rules below, and lets you download a DXF of the part.
Upload a drawing
Have a CAD file? Upload a DXF or SVG and every circle in it is priced as a hole. Note countersunk or tapped holes and their screw sizes in the order notes, or put them on their own layer.
From the shop
Stock shapes and sheets in the shop have a link that reads "Add holes or change the shape in the designer". It opens that part in the designer, ready for holes.
Design rules for holes in acrylic
These are the limits the designer checks.
| Sheet thickness | Smallest hole | Material around a hole |
|---|---|---|
| 1/16 in. (1.5 mm) | 1/16 in. | 1/16 in. |
| 1/8 in. (3 mm) | 1/16 in. | 1/8 in. |
| 3/16 in. (4.5 mm) | 3/32 in. | 3/16 in. |
| 1/4 in. (6 mm) | 1/8 in. | 1/4 in. |
| 3/8 in. (9 mm) | 3/16 in. | 3/8 in. |
| 1/2 in. (12 mm) | 1/4 in. | 1/2 in. |
- Why holes near an edge crack. Acrylic doesn't stretch much before it breaks, so a thin strip between a hole and the edge carries all the force of a screw, a bump, or the panel flexing, and it cracks there first. That's why we ask for at least one sheet thickness of material around every hole. If a screw goes through it, about twice that is better.
- Spacing between holes. The same rule applies between neighboring holes: keep at least one sheet thickness of solid acrylic between their edges, so the web between them doesn't break.
- Oversize holes outdoors. Acrylic grows and shrinks about 0.00004 in. per inch per °F, so a 48 in. panel changes about 0.2 in. over a 100 °F swing. Screws through snug holes in a sign or window that sees sun and cold will crack it. Make the holes larger than the screws and use washers. The thermal expansion calculator gives the clearance for your panel size.
Why drilling acrylic yourself often cracks it
A standard twist drill is ground to bite into metal. In acrylic it grabs as it breaks through the back face, pulls itself into the sheet, and chips or cracks it. Heat from a dull bit melts the plastic, and a hole too close to an edge can crack weeks later.
We avoid all of that by laser cutting round holes with no contact at all, and by countersinking and tapping with tools and speeds made for acrylic. If you'd rather do it yourself, read how to drill acrylic without cracking it and can you screw into acrylic first.
Common uses for acrylic with holes
- Signs on standoffs: four corner holes sized for the standoff barrel. See business signs with standoffs.
- Mounting panels: backer plates and covers with a hole pattern that matches the parts behind them.
- Machine guards: mounting holes plus slots so the guard can be adjusted. See acrylic machine guards.
- Electronics enclosures: tapped holes for board standoffs and cut-outs for ports. See electronics enclosures.
- Display stands: holes for pegs, rods, and assembly screws in risers and display stands.
- Ventilation: a grid of round holes or a row of slots over anything that runs warm.
Need the part bent or bonded too? We can line bend it after cutting or build it into a box or case.