I need some advice/ help on a project I am working on.

I am wanting to CNC what is approximately a 30" x 40" piece of .0125 Polypropylene with a hex pattern similar to what you might see in a perforated plastic the hex pattern is 0.25" hex that is staggered on 0.375" centers.

I have broken several 1/16" End Mill Down Cut bits attempting to machine this.

The reason i was using the down cut bit is that the up cut bits seem to pull the material up off the table.

the material is held on the machine by a neat method i found on youtube where you place painters tape on the bed and on the material and use superglue between them to hold the pieces in place. IT seems to work well as long as i use a down cut bit, but i am worried that if i use an up cut bit it will pull the material off the table.

The precision of the hex pattern is fairly important and the 1/16 End mill does give a beautifully cut pattern once i get it all cleaned up - before i break the bit anyways.

how would you experts in this forum tackle this job? and or any jobs in the future where I cut thin plastic type materials?