David Hakala wrote:

I have some small pieces of 1/4" Lexan, 3.5" long. I need to
cut parallel grooves in one surface, 1/16" x 1/16", spaced
1/4" apart. The best idea I've had so far is a rotary tool
with a cutting wheel mounted on a board. Here's the hasty
version of this rig:

www.nopoliticalcalls.com/grooves.jpg

It cuts well, but it leaves curls of cuttings melted to the
sides of the grooves that are a PITA to remove without
scratching the Lexan:

www.nopoliticalcalls.com/cuttings.jpg

Any ideas how to minimize such curls, or how to remove them
easily and cleanly?

Dave...

I've had fairly good luck routing Lexan sheet stock. The smallest
bit that I've used has been 1/8"; but I can't see any reason why
you couldn't route it with a 1/16" bit, as long as you maintain a
feed rate that avoids the heat buildup.

Looking back at my notes, I cut the 1/8" Lexan with the 1/8"
two-flute spiral bit at 18000 RPM with a 1.5"/sec feed rate. I'm
not sure this is ideal; but it worked for me.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/solar.html