polycarbonate for internal sign?

[Robert Lambie]

there is a few ways to do it mate. depends on your customers budget, or should i say, if they have one.

stand-off aluminum locators you will get from "i-spi trade supply". great prices. start from under a Pound each upwards. http://www.ispitrade.com/

you can use toughened glass with polished edges and have them drill 10mm holes. or use laminate glass with polished edges and get the holes drilled too.
personally, i prefer the look and finish of glass and if you go to someone like solaglass who do this in house direct to the public its not expensive and you only buy what is cut for you.

go the acrylic route and yes you can get it cut, but you buy by the sheet.
as i said, i prefer glass as it looks richer and doesnt scratch as easy.
glass companies like solaglass and the like also polish edges, drill etc all in-house. but not the case if buying acrylic/polycarbonate. there for you buy the acrylice, get cut to size. you then need a compny to polishes the edges if you cannot. you then drill holes yourself.

size wise, i would suggest 6 fixings minimum.

the vinyl part is the easy part…

best of luck

[Brian Carey]

thanks Rob, i will digest all that over the weekend, there is a business beside me that will cut out the polycarbonate, id have to drill myself, i don’t think my courier would like to be delivering the glass,

BC 😕

[Robert Walker]

I have used these for a couple of years now

http://www.theplasticpeople.co.uk/cutto … 771eb825cb

if you call you get a better price than the website gives you but its good for quoting, they will also polish the edges, round corners and drill holes

[Robert Lambie]

drilling the holes isn’t a problem mate… i just added it as another thing that can be sourced with the glass. i.e. buy only what you use, polished edges, drilled holes.
cutting it isnt a big deal, but the edges need to be finished properly to get the look your after. a saw or router will leavea dull finish sorta brurred finished to it.
if the customer has stipulated this type of signage then they are more likely after a look/finsh they have seen. glass ticks all the boxes for me.

now that said, transporting… well i assumed you were fitting this and transporting yourself. its still no big deal as i said its toughened or laminate.
but at same time a shet of 1/5 ply sandwiching it would suffice.

Robert has suggested someone that will do it all in one, maybe worth looking his route if mine doesnt suit. just give the price comparison consideration though.

at the end of the day, buying it all in, adding some vinyl then having to get it couriered safely and someone else fitting. leaves very little profit margin for you to then sit waiting on payment. ide be asking all up front if i were you mate.

[Martin Pearson]

Careful about what material you use for this job Brian, you have mentioned polycarbonate and I would imagine you really mean acrylic. They are not the same material and this sort of job would be better suited to acrylic.

[Brian Carey]

I got acrylic before cut to size and it came drilled, was impressed with the finish but it was expensive and as Rob was saying leaves the profit tight! i thought polycarbonate would have been similar and cheaper to buy, but i see what your saying, if it doesn’t have the finish then maybe i should be going down the glass or acrylic route! I’m in south Ireland by the way, so i haven’t got access to some of the company’s mentioned, but i can get acrylic cut in Dublin no problem (at a price)!

thanks for the help so far,

BC

[Gavin MacMillan]

Plenty suppliers will cut, polish edges and drill holes in acrylic – you would not need to by the whole sheet. Don’t know about cost comparison with glass but some of the info above is not correct.

[Phill Fenton]

I always get mine from Ashby Trade Sign supplies who will supply a panel cut to size complete with polished edges, radius corners and chrome stand off locator’s. Good prices too

[Peter Dee]

What sort of job is it to drill 12mm holes in 5mm acrylic?
Any special way of doing it?

[Robert Lambie]

quote Gavin MacMillan:

Plenty suppliers will cut, polish edges and drill holes in acrylic – you would not need to by the whole sheet. Don’t know about cost comparison with glass but some of the info above is not correct.

Sorry Gavin, i think i may have caused you some confusion with my reply…

My reply is based on "us/me" doing this in-house and sourcing acrylic locally, or same in glass locally.
I can buy in acrylic from the likes of amari, robert horne etc. they will cut it to size, i drill it and mount it, or i CNC Router it and mount.
However, i am also left with the off-cuts and i hate hoarding acrylic as i seldom use it.
I still need it edge polished…. i can flame polish "but roughly" so thats out.
flame polish is also not as good a finish as diamond cut/polished edges.

this aside, as i said at the beginning, i prefer the "look & finish" of glass over acrylic.
I can also source this locally from the likes of solaglass "as most can" and can sometimes get it same day.
i think the look is better and i can source it cheaper. "hense why i was pushing the use of Glass".

quote Robert Lambie:

Robert T Walker has suggested someone that will do it all in one, maybe worth looking his route if mine doesnt suit. just give the price comparison consideration though.

As i said, looking at a trade supplier doing it for you all in one is an option too.
but in my experience, i have always found "my preferred finish" of glass, to be more cost effective.

I did a quick price comparison when this post was made:

Solaglass
1500 x 600
6mm Toughend glass
diamond edge polished
6 no. 10mm holes
Cost £48.70 +VAT
Local Pick-up Free

Well known reputable sign trade supplier
1500 x 600
5mm acrylic
Flame polished edge
6 no. 10mm holes
Cost £57.04 +VAT
Delivery £16.50 +VAT
Total £73.54 +VAT

As you can see, i make a significant saving!

Further more.
the acrylic is 5mm thick and flame polished.
the glass is 6mm thick and diamond edge polished. [superior finish]

all in all, i get the look and finish i want, and i pay less for it.

hope this helps clear things up from my end.

.

[Otto Peltonen]

One more thing to notify when deciding whether to use glass or acrylic: 1500×600 piece of 6 mm glass weighs approx. 13,5 kg, same size 5 mm acrylic weighs 5,4 kg.