Need acrylic info and assistance

I put a similar post in the Facebook group today but got no response. I am getting ready to try my first acrylic cut. I ordered 3/16" acrylic. I am going to paint one side. I have plans to cut circles using O flute and label circles using a diamond drag bit.

However, I have not a clue what speed or feed rate to use with the O flute bit. I have read enough that I know it is rather important so as not to melt the material, wasting the material and possible the bit, too. Not sure what depth to run the diamond drag, but I feel like I can play with those settings more safely that the cutting.

Either way, ANY direction would be greatly appreciated!

@OriginalChrisPratt - Donā€™t give up Chris. I know there are a few that have worked with acrylic. I saw your facebook post but I have not tried acrylics yet. I bought some in different thicknesses to give it a try myself. Just waiting on warmer weather since my garage/shop is not heated. @gwilki - Grant can you help this gentleman out. I know you have cut some acrylic before for your magnetic dust boot. I canā€™t help him. I am interested in the info too. Thanks in advance.

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@OriginalChrisPratt @Heyward43 Iā€™ve cut up to 1/4" acrylic with an o-flute 1/8" bit. I also cut 1/2" acrylic with a standard 2-flute 1/4" bit. In both cases, I ran the Makita router at 12000rpm - number 2 on the speed dial. I set the feed to 30ipm and the plunge to 20ipm. I did ramps of .5" inch for both bits.

I was surprised at the quality of the surface.

Iā€™ve cut quite a bit of 1/2" corian using the same numbers.

You are right, Chris. The big thing is finding a speed that does not chatter, but moves fast enough to prevent melting. Acylic varies quite a bit, too. There are more chemical names that I can spell, but to us, it all means how hard it is and its melting point. This is just me saying that YMMV over mine.

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I have absolutely no experience to help you, sorry. Iā€™m just wondering if you have a link for the drag knife you are using, would love to get more adventurous and try acrylic also,

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https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DK1TWKG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That is the link for the diamond bit I purchasedā€¦have not used yetā€¦

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@Heyward43
Wow! Thank you so much! Thatā€™s exactly what I neededā€¦a place to start. I agreeā€“so many different chemical namesā€¦kinda like Kleenex. Everything is called Kleenex but Kleenex is actually a brand. I did do enough research to make sure I bought cast acrylic and not extruded. A bit more expensive but hopefully more forgiving of my inexperience.

Greatly appreciate the help (from both of you!). May take a couple of weeks to get to it now (shared garage with Harley, which decided to break down today), but once I make the piece, I will let you all know how it worked out.

Thanks again!!