Construction of a five layer, 3-D acrylic maze
I made this five layer, 3 dimensional maze out of 1/2 inch
acrylic for a Christmas gift in 1999.
(Click on the thumbnail to see the real (larger) picture).
The
first step in making the maze was to mill the channels in the acrylic.
This was done using a Numerically controlled Bridgeport milling machine.
This
is a close up of the cutter.
Here
is another view of the Bridgeport mill.
After the different
layers are milled, they are stacked together and glued. The glue
is very thin and wicks in from the edges of the plastic.
After
the glue has dried overnight, a fly-cutter is used to surface each face
to a smooth, flat surface. At this point the surface is almost completely
clear, though the mill marks are still visible. To eliminate the
mill marks, the surface is lightly wet sanded with 2000 grit sandpaper.
To
get crystal clarity, the slight haze left from the sanding is polished
out.
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John
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Last updated on: Jun 17 2015
After the different
layers are milled, they are stacked together and glued. The glue
is very thin and wicks in from the edges of the plastic.
After
the glue has dried overnight, a fly-cutter is used to surface each face
to a smooth, flat surface. At this point the surface is almost completely
clear, though the mill marks are still visible. To eliminate the
mill marks, the surface is lightly wet sanded with 2000 grit sandpaper.
