Question 3mm Acrylic that is not wavy or warped

[Tricia]

We are looking for a 3mm plexi/acrylic that lays flat on our flatbed printer and maintains a common thickness across its entire surface. The material we have been receiving (from fairly large distributors) has come in warped from band wrapping and does not flatten out. Has anyone had success with a specific supplier?

 

[Gino]

Doesn't your flatbed have a vacuum system to do that for you ?? PVC, wood, poly carb, styrene and so many other substrates come in with a slight wave to it, but the vacuum takes that out for us.

 

[Tricia]

Gino, It does have a vacuum, yet the plexi is so warped that it will not lay perfectly flat in spots and the carriage has hit it.
We can compensate for the wave and raise the carriage but we will lose image quality. We have also put down a lot of double stick tape.
We would rather find a acrylic/plexi that is not so wavy.

 

[Starter]

Could it be the difference between buying cast and extruded acrylic?

Cast acrylic versus extruded acrylic

 

[agonuni]

We use Optix DA (digital acrylic) from Plaskolite. The thickness is consistent throughout the sheet and it sits flat on our flatbed.

 

[Gino]

Forgot about this thread.

Lots of our poly comes in rolled up with bands on them. We cut them open, let them lay flat for a day or two and they become completely flat. We've also taken them right from the roll and put them on the printer within an hour or two.

Might I suggest maybe your vacuum holes are clogged and need to be cleaned out, or perhaps cut some cardboard or some other cheap material and lay it down where the acrylic isn't covering, creating more vacuum in the areas you need.

 

[Bly]

If it's too warped to pull down on a vacuum table I'd be telling my supplier to return the stuff.