For over 50 years, Piedmont Plastics has brought material solutions to various businesses, from medical and food handling to transportation and medicine.
Not the least of those solutions has involved plexiglass sheet and panels.
And for good reasons.
Here, we go into some of the factors behind what makes plexiglass so popular and what you can do with it.
What Is Plexiglass?
Plexiglass, often also referred to as acrylic, is a versatile plastic material that serves many purposes and benefits. It comes in a range of colors and levels of opaqueness. First produced in 1928, acrylic glass first found use during World War ll in airplane windows, canopies, and turrets.
Today, you can find plexiglass commonly sold in sheets of various thicknesses and as rods or tubes. Styles often come in frosted, mirrored, or non-glare to suit customer requirements. Most useful, however, is that plexiglass can be molded and colored to fit nearly any application. No matter what shape, size, or style best suits your needs, plexiglass offers a cost-effective, durable solution for your project.
You can find plexiglass used in an impressive number of useful products. It’s an indispensable component of sunrooms, aquariums, sneeze guards, toys, scientific and medical equipment, retail displays, window panes, and even bulletproof glass. Plexiglass is an outstanding choice of material, no matter for what purpose it is used.
Why Go With Plexiglass?
Plexiglass sheet and panels are ideal for products ranging from simple household items to fiber optic cables. The properties that allow plexiglass to enjoy such immense popularity in manufacturing include:
- High impact resistance
- High optical clarity
- Innate weatherability and UV resistance
- Lightweight
- Excellent dimensional stability
- Excellent chemical resistance
Despite its lower cost, plexiglass is ten times more impact-resistant than glass. Even in those rare instances in which plexiglass breaks, it fractures into dull-edged pieces rather than dangerous shards. It’s one reason why plexiglass has become so popular to use in windows for commercial buildings.
What Can Plexiglass Be Used For?
Whether you’re manufacturing need requires strength, longevity, or clarity, plexiglass offers numerous advantages over other materials. High among those advantages is its versatility in that it is featured in multiple applications.
Some examples for which plexiglass is ideal:
- Protective barriers for manufacturing
- Protective barriers for COVID-19 or other health concerns
- Skylights
- Sunrooms and greenhouses
- Commercial windows
- Retail signage
- Commercial displays
- Aquariums and terrariums
- Bullet resistant glass
- Airplane windows
- Vehicle components
If you need a transparent material that is easily moldable and impact-resistance, plexiglass sheet or panels may be what you need to complete your production.
More Interesting and Useful Facts About Plexiglass
As a lightweight, shatter-resistant alternative to glass, plexiglass is known by many names aside from generic terms such as plexiglass and acrylic. It is also known as acrylic glass or as one of many brand names — Plexiglas, Lucite, Acrylite, Optix, and more.
Whether in sheet, panel, rod, or tube form, plexiglass and acrylic are the same product—plexiglass is simply a common way to refer to transparent acrylic sheets. The term “plexiglass” itself originates from a brand of transparent acrylic sheets called “Plexiglas,” but plexiglass and acrylic today are frequently used interchangeably.
When it comes to cutting plexiglass sheet, Piedmont Plastic offers advanced methods for cutting and machining your plexiglass to meet your requirements. That said, plexiglass sheet can also be cut on-site or even at home with tools as simple as a scoring knife or Dremel.
While it is possible to cut acrylic yourself, consider the benefits of having an expert make sure the cutting process is done the first time correctly. Having your plexiglass sheets machined by a professional will ensure a clean cut and a proper finish.
What To Know About Buying Plexiglass
The thickness of a plexiglass sheet will be an essential factor to consider when calculating impact resistance. For cast plexiglass sheets, you have a wide variety of thicknesses to choose from—usually ranging from .06 inches to 4 inches thick.
As far as pricing is concerned, much of that is dependent on the size, thickness, and quantity of acrylic purchased. In most cases, the easiest thing to do would be to ask for a direct quote. Give us your specific requirements, and we’ll give you the best quote to meet your needs.
If you’re looking to buy our plexiglass online, visit our cast acrylic sheet product page..
Don’t forget that plexiglass can come in a variety of colors and finishes. You have many options to pick from so you can find the material best suited for your project.
Your Plexiglass Experts
At Piedmont Plastics, we are dedicated to providing the best service in the industry. To better serve our customers, we maintain a team of experts to help you find the best material for your needs. In addition, our specialists are prepared to provide you with innovative solutions for your applications, from new products to traditional materials.