An acrylic medal is a small, cheap part with an expensive failure mode: if the eyelet tears out at the finish line, the event is remembered for the wrong reason.
A race organiser in Cape Town ordered 8 000 medals in 3 mm stock with a raw drilled hole and no eyelet. Roughly 300 came back after the event with the hole elongated and the ribbon cut through.
Acrylic medal gauge and eyelet
- Race medal: 4 mm
- Display award: 6 to 8 mm
- Hole: 5 mm, 6 mm from the edge, eyeleted
- Edge: cut and flame polished
The hole and the edge distance are the structural design. A 5 mm hole 6 mm from the edge leaves a 3.5 mm band of material carrying a swinging medal, and an eyelet spreads that load over the band instead of concentrating it.
Cutting, fill and packing
Laser cutting handles a shaped outline with fine detail and no tool cost, which suits a single event. Die cutting pays off past a few thousand units and leaves a cleaner edge that needs no flame pass.
Packing is where medals are damaged. A medal loose in a bag with a ribbon attached swings against the bag wall and the corners chip; a card sleeve per medal costs little and prevents the returns.
For the same engraving logic on a larger award, see acrylic trophy plaques.
Send your medal shape, diameter and run size to oversales@rpplexiglass.com for event award pricing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What thickness acrylic medal?
4 mm for a race medal, 6 to 8 mm for a sponsor award or a medal that will be kept on display. Below 4 mm the eyelet hole distorts under swing load.
How is the ribbon attached?
Through an eyelet in a 5 mm hole set 6 mm from the edge, or through a machined slot with a 3 mm wall. A drilled hole without an eyelet wears through in a season of use.
Why does colour fill rub off?
The fill sits proud of the engraving and has no protective layer. A lacquer fill recessed 0.5 mm below the surface, or reverse print behind clear stock, survives handling and shipping.