Last Updated on September 13, 2024
Acrylic, an extremely tough (but transparent plastic) material, is becoming common in the building industry. As a typical alternative to glass, acrylic is a syntactic polymer known as polymethyl methacrylate. It’s also important to note that acrylic plastic is tough as well as shatter-resistant—a reason why it was extensively utilized during the World War II in making periscopes, canopies, as well as gun turrets.
Even more, acrylic plastic comes with powerful shatterproof properties—which makes it ideal when it comes to the construction of aquarium tanks, ice rink protective shields, helmet visors, in addition to forklift guards. Acrylic plastic weighs half the weight of a normal glass. You can use acrylic plastic in windows, outdoor signs, bath enclosures, as well as aquarium tanks.
So, what makes acrylic plastic a popular option in the construction industry? Well, this article is going to sample the main advantages that are making it a big hit in the manufacturing industry.
Easy to Fabricate and Shape
The ability of a material to be easily molded into different shapes is an important property when it comes to the selection of manufacturing material. And that’s what acrylic plastic offers. When heating to about 100 degrees, acrylic plastic can be molded into different shapes—including bottles, tubes, figurines, as well as picture frames.
The best part: during cooling, it perfectly holds to the desired shape. Thus, manufacturers are can easily mold it into large sheets.
Weather Resistant—It Can Retain Color for Long
Acrylic is tough—making it ideal products when it comes to windows as well as headlight car lenses. For instance, acrylic letters (i.e. in outdoor signs) can hold up indefinitely. Plus, they resist weathering—which plays a key role in protecting the colors. Light doesn’t affect acrylic paints.
That’s why they tend to retain the colors for a long period of time. Even more, acrylic can be used in numerous indoor applications. For instance, when used as hanging wall signs, they glow easily.
This is because acrylic is easily lit with clarity. It’s also important to note that acrylic is weather resistant and comes with superior light refracting capabilities. That’s why most sculptors, as well as glass artists, use it to make outdoor designs.
Light
It’s easy to handle acrylic. This is because it weighs about 50% less than the actual glass. This makes it ideal in a number of industrial applications—including the roofing system of homes. Their light nature doesn’t impact on any building’s foundation.
Impact Resistant
With a tensile strength of 10,000 lbs. per square inch and impact resistance of 6-17 times greater than glass—acrylic is all you need for impact prone applications. It won’t break or shatter under high impact. You won’t worry about things like fractures and breaks.
So, when shopping around for things like shower doors, security barriers (especially those of correctional facilities), and bath enclosures think acrylic material. It has a beneficial safety feature. Other applications of acrylic material include hockey rinks and ball field enclosures. If these are the properties you are looking for, get your acrylic product from Regal Plastics.
Highly Transparent
The optical clarity of acrylic is high—making it ideal in greenhouses, skylights, and plane windows.
The Bottom-Line
Are you looking for weather-resistant, light, and impact-resistant material? Well, think acrylic plastic. With this material, you have sheets that can be easily drilled, fabricated, and cut. The above are the top benefits of investing in acrylic plastic.
