Glue joining acrylic is an art form of its own!
Specialized acrylic glue requires continued testing (on offcut materials) before gluing a final product. This slows down the manufacturing process but it important in order to achieve precise joins.
Preparation for gluing is critical and already starts at the point of cutting (CNC router & Laser work). Cutting causes stress on materials so we use diamond edge polishing equipment to reduce this. This is because if the edges have stress, glue will absorb into it and cause crazing.
Acrylic glue is attracted to water. This means on cold days the glue joins draw in moisture, delaying the bonding process and causing bubbles (due to the chemical reaction). In contrast, hot days causes the glue to evaporate quickly which can result in unfavorable glue joins.
The bonding process between the materials and the glue is not a surface effect. The glue chemically reacts with the materials, melting and bonding it together. The glue changes the molecules shape to form a strong bond which can be 5 times stronger than the individual materials. Once it is dry, it is a strong, rigid and durable product.