What is best tool to cut multiple sheets of 1/16 " polycarbonate sheets?

[aluminumwelder]

So it took 3 guys to cut 8 sheets of 1/16" thick lexan over a table saw with plastic cutting blade the sheets were put ona piece of plywood to make it easier but it still a pain

now i could make a huge 16 ft long table extnsion but these sheets are so heavy!
Not sure that would help and it eat up a lot of space

which got me thinking about track saws or a wall saw or maybe there is a better tool for this purpose?

This is for a production job where we are making about 120 sign panels each about 2x3' in size

cutting them all by hand is what we are doing now. Id rather not do that anymore

 

[CanuckSigns]

1/16" polycarb is easy to cut on either a sheer, or with a ruler and a knife, 1-2 passes and snap it off.

1/16" sheets are heavy?!?!

 

[aluminumwelder]

1/16" sheets are heavy?!?!

when you have 8 of them that's half an inch thick and yes it is heavy. I know because I actually tried it! I'll bet you a $100 you can't lift eight sheets by yourself with your bare hands.
. And cutting it with a straight edge and knife is what we do now and it's not working. This is about efficiency and production.

 

[CanuckSigns]

Well yes anything is heavy if you stack enough of them together. As for your question, a sheer is going to be the quickest method, if you don't have a 4 foot sheer, a sheet metal shop should be able to help you. I figure you would have 120 pcs in about an hour with this method. But even with a knife & ruler I can't see it taking more than 4 hours

 

[aluminumwelder]

Trust me your guesstimate of four hrs is totally wrong
your telling me it takes 2 minutes to measure and cut out a panel? Sounds good in your head theory but in real life youve got to move the sheets and doing it one at a time is slow
a 4 foot shear is not practical due to expense and size

 

[fixtureman]

when you have 8 of them that's half an inch thick and yes it is heavy. I know because I actually tried it! I'll bet you a $100 you can't lift eight sheets by yourself with your bare hands.
. And cutting it with a straight edge and knife is what we do now and it's not working. This is about efficiency and production.

I'll take that bet I pick up 1 inch 48 x 96 plexi and load it on my cnc

 

[FS-Keith]

why do you need to cut them all at once? with a t square and some sharp blades that should take one person not much over 3hrs on a table. You probably could have had it half done in the time you have spent babbling on about it in this thread.

 

[FatCat]

I would vote for a track saw - I love my Dewalt. I've stacked up to 6 sheets of 3mm max-metal at a time and goes through it no problem. Just have to make sure you clamp the pile down so it doesn't shift on you.

 

[SignManiac]

I'm lazy. I'd throw it up on my CNC and go have a cup of coffee.

 

[Jester1167]

A lot of suppliers will cut down the material for you and if they make a mistake you don't pay for it.

 

[aluminumwelder]

bet accepted

FATCAGT thanks I just bought a track saw off ebay. I'll report back how well it works.

Jester1167 Thanks for that idea, I have done that in the past on occasion. I cut the sheets into other sizes so I didn't do that this time, maybe next time I will go this route since it saves labor.

fixtureman i accept your bet. Post youtube video of you picking up 8 sheets of 1/16th polycarbonate with your bare hands from a stack and putting them all on a cutting table at the same time and I'll send you the cash. Otherwise send me the $100.

For those of you with CNC that is great you have one, not sure if you are just trying to be smug, or brag or what, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out that a 4' shear or a cnc is not what I had in mind.

For those of you still wondering why I want to cut multiple sheets at a time please reread my first post.

as always I appreciate the thoughtful responses.