Cast acrylic sheet and block have properties making them suitable for a wide variety of applications ranging from precision engineering components to commercial and domestic products. Acrylic properties include:
Clarity
With a refractive index of 1.49, clear acrylic has excellent optical clarity and light transmission properties. Light transmission for clear acrylic is typically 92%.
Abrasion Resistance
Acrylic is a polymer (plastic) but offers an abrasive resistance comparable to Aluminium.
Weight
With a relative density at 1.19 g/cm3, Acrylic is half the weight of ordinary glass at 2.5g/cm3.
Chemical Resistance
Acrylic has good resistance to many common chemicals.
Shatter-Resistant
Acrylic has good flexural strength and a good resistance to breakage. If dropped, acrylic will tend to chip rather than break like glass.
Availability
Clear cast Perspex acrylic is available in a wide range of sheet and block sizes. Perspex acrylic can also be produced in different colours or be colour matched if required.
Products made from acrylic and other plastics in an injected moulded form are very common, but the high costs of mould tooling can be a prohibitive factor when selecting materials for small volume and prototype production runs – the solution is to use precision machined acrylic.
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