Acrylic Sheet
PMMA or Acrylic or Acrylic glass is a transparent thermoplastic and lightweight and shatter-resistant. In sheet form, it is used as an alternative to glass. It is half the weight of glass, and much cheaper than glass. It has environmental stability and therefore can be used in outdoor applications. It can transmit 92% of visible light and can reflect 4% of light from its surface.
Acrylic is transparent and durable and is therefore used in making lenses of glasses and tail lights of vehicles to reduce the cost. As it provides good-quality transparency and is durable therefore it is used in making commercial and residential aquariums and window panes.
Acrylic is known by different trade names like Lucite, Plexiglas, Crylux, Perspex, Acrylite and others. It is a non-crystalline substance and it is classified as a type of glass. Additives and modifiers can be easily added to PMMA to get desired properties for any application.
Application of acrylic
Acrylic is easy to process and can withstand all weather conditions therefore it is used in window glazing. Because it is impact resistant, it is used to make recreational vehicle windshields and acrylic parts are used in motorcycles and helicopters.
PMMA is known for its impact strength, and chemical and UV resistance. The corrugated acrylic sheet is extremely tough and does not lose its impact strength and stability therefore it is used in the architecture and construction industry.
PMMA has excellent formability and can be used to make new designs. It has good acoustic properties and is lightweight therefore it is used in the car manufacturing industry for glazing. It is scratch resistant and hard and is also used in making number plates, interior and exterior panels, bumpers, fenders and more.
Because of its light transmission property and durability, it is used to make LCD screens and monitors. Acrylic can withstand constant stress and allows high energy conversion therefore it is used in solar panels.
PMMA has properties like being lightweight, transparent, tough and aesthetics and is used by designers to make chairs, tables, homeware, tableware, gifts and more. Products can be made using acrylic to give an opaque object a translucent look.
PMMA is a transparent material and therefore it is used in optical and lighting applications like making lamps. In LEDs, PMMA helps to maximize the light-emitting potential.
Acrylic also has good compatibility with human tissue and is used to make intraocular lenses. In dental applications, it is used for cavity filling and acrylic resins are used in bone cement.
PMMA is used to make laboratory equipment, incubators, drug testing devices and more. This is due to its properties like easy to process, good dimensional stability, purity of the material, good bonding capabilities with other polymers, optical clarity and surface hardness.