Acrylic Manufacturing Process
Craftsmanship at Wetop Acrylic
Maintaining a humble attitude to learn and listening to our clients’ ideas is the foundation for improving our acrylic production techniques. Over the past decade, we’ve grown alongside our customers, enabling our processes to meet diverse product structures, aesthetics, and functionalities to align with the ever-evolving market demands.
Here, we’ll share our common techniques so you can understand how your products are made, what processes are used, and uncover the truth behind acrylic production.
Manufacturing Process
Since each custom acrylic product varies in structure, appearance, and functionality, the processes used will also differ. The manufacturing steps listed here are not in any specific order.
Acrylic Laser Cutting
Acrylic Sheet Cut in Size
Laser cutting is one of the most fundamental processes in acrylic product manufacturing. Before cutting, a design drawing is prepared based on the product requirements. The acrylic sheet is then placed on the cutting machine, where it is cut to the specified dimensions according to the design. After cutting, the acrylic pieces can undergo subsequent processes such as polishing, heat bending, and bonding.
Acrylic CNC Engraving
Acrylic Sheet Cut in Shape
Using CNC machines, we can engrave various complex shapes, textures, or grooves into acrylic products. Automated equipment allows for fast and precise engraving, ensuring consistent results every time.
Example: Engraving the letter ‘A’ into acrylic, creating circular or star-shaped designs, making a display slot for the POP display stands.
Acrylic Drilling
Make A Hole On the Acrylic
Drilling holes in specific locations on acrylic is commonly done for products like acrylic photo frames, boxes, and outdoor signage. The purpose of drilling is to allow acrylic to be paired with accessories such as magnets or screws for installation, expanding the versatility and application range of acrylic products.
Acrylic Polishing
Take The Sunshine On Your Products
The polishing process refines the acrylic surface, ensuring a smooth, clear, and glossy finish.
Acrylic products require careful polishing to achieve the best transparency, Different structures demand different polishing techniques.
The cloth Wheel is used for surface polishing, the diamond machine specifically removes cutting marks, and flame polishing is ideal for polishing irregular shapes.
Printing or Etching
The Way Branding Your Project
Thanks to the excellent light transmission of acrylic, branding on acrylic is a perfect solution for showcasing your brand. Depending on the artwork, we use different branding methods:
- Silk-Screen Printing – Commonly used for logo branding, ideal for simple colors and small printing areas.
- UV Printing – Suitable for vibrant, full-color designs with gradient effects, often used for advertising displays and decorative items.
- Vinyl Decals – Commonly applied to acrylic display stands. Known for their rich colors and clear images, they offer a cost-effective alternative to UV printing with minimal color differences.
- Etching – Etching textures, logos, or markings onto acrylic items. Often used for ornaments, picture frames, and blocks, this minimalist branding approach is popular among artists and custom design enthusiasts.
Bonding
Build a Skyscraper
Your product will be shaped through bonding, a process similar to building a skyscraper. First, we lay the foundation, then carefully build upwards step by step. Patience is essential, as we cannot proceed to the next step until the glue has fully dried. Each operation requires great care, not only to ensure structural integrity but also to maintain aesthetic appeal by carefully managing glue marks.
Bonding is a crucial step for products with distinct structures, such as display stands, boxes, and trays.
Hot Bending
Diverse Structures
Heat bending is another forming method. By applying high temperatures to acrylic, we can use pre-made tools to bend it into specific angles. This technique is often used for sign holders and acrylic boxes with strict requirements for bonding areas. In addition to meeting structural needs, heat bending helps avoid the visible seams that can result from bonding.
Assembling
Add Possibility On Your Products
It’s time to unleash your imagination—can you think of a way to add functionality to your product or combine it with other materials for a unique effect?
For example, how about adding an LCD screen or LED light strip to your POS display stand? Or combining your acrylic tray with a wooden base and metal handles? Maybe even adding a music player to your acrylic box? Yes, at Wetop Acrylic, anything is possible.
Packing
Protecting & Adding Value on Your Project
The primary principle of packaging is to ensure the safety of the goods, and we understand this well. International shipping comes with uncertainties, and some customers also need to re-ship the products to their end clients. That’s why we put a lot of effort into our packaging solutions—to make sure every item our clients receive is flawless. A simple standard we follow is this: the box must withstand a 3-meter drop without any damage.
Additionally, we recognize that a great retail product needs packaging that matches its quality and appeal. We offer custom packaging solutions to ensure your product stands out as the star, inside and out.