Additionally, plexiglass sheet weighs roughly half of what glass does, making it much easier to move, cut, and install. Because it can be easily cut and is fairly light-weight in comparison to traditional glass, acrylic sheeting is ideal for use when making an accent window, or designed window. Glass is not practical when designing windows for architectural pieces and it is too brittle and rigid, the flexible polymers in plexiglass allow for custom shapes and designs.
Additionally, acrylic sheeting comes in a variety of styles including colored acrylic sheet, fluorescent acrylic sheet, and black and white acrylic sheet. One of the best reasons to purchase acrylic plastic sheets over traditional glass is to remove glare and reflections. Glass reflects more light and the thicker glass is, the more discoloring you will notice. However, no matter the thickness of plexiglass, it always remains clear.
The material, which is considered a lightweight and shatter-resistant alternative to glass, has had a fascinating history and experienced a multitude of different uses in that time. Today, plexiglass continues to be utilized in new and interesting ways, including as a potential means with which to help combat coronavirus spread. Restaurants, stores, and other businesses have begun using plexiglass partitions as protective shields for both workers and customers, especially as cities and towns slowly reopen.
Below, we dive into this unusual material, addressing its material properties, its history, and the ways it continues to be used today. Also known as acrylic, acrylic glass, or more scientifically, poly methyl methacrylate PMMA , plexiglass is a transparent petroleum-based thermoplastic typically manufactured in sheets.
It is a strong, tough, and lightweight material, with a higher impact strength than glass. It is also useful for outdoor applications due to a higher environmental stability than most other plastics, such as polystyrene and polyethylene. These advantages, combined with other properties including high service life, effective light transmission, and simple processing, make plexiglass a highly useful invention.
However, plexiglass products rarely use pure PMMA, instead modifying the material to optimize its properties even further. Such modifications include adding butyl acrylate to improve impact strength, adding methacrylic acid to allow for higher temperature uses, adding dyes to give color for decorative applications, and many more.
When using plexiglass with a glazing applications, it has a high resistance to smudges and scratches while still maintaining stunning clarity. Acrylic and plexiglass have high thermal values and insulate buildings better than glass, helping to improve the efficiency of your structure.
When it comes to security, plexiglass acrylic plays an essential role. It has a very high resistance to damage and abrasions, making it one of the strongest plastics, providing a high level of protection for facilities. Similar to other applications, plexiglass is the preferred material for constructing solar panels.
One of the biggest advantages of plexiglass panels are the ability to easily cut and form them. This is especially important for do it yourself projects. Did you know? You can use plexiglass to build a sleek, modern deck railing. Learn how to make your deck the top of the town with these ideas from Mr. Like Glass Doctor, Mr. Handyman is part of the Neighborly family of trusted home service professionals.
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What Is Plexiglass?
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