In order to meet the needs of the market, companies or researchers will develop the color, strength and flexibility and other properties of different acrylic sheet.The variety of materials, for users there are more choices, is certainly a good thing, but for many ordinary people are sometimes very confused, confused about what the difference between them, in the end is not the same material.Many people often use acrylic sheets have such questions, from a distance like glass, close up like plastic, and its name is called acrylic, it is in the end glass or plastic?
What is acrylic：
China acrylic sheet is the most common way we call this material, also known as organic glass, the abbreviation is PMMA, its full chemical name is called polymethacrylic, its raw materials belong to the acrylic chemicals.Usually we can hear the names of acrylic cotton, acrylic yarn, acrylic nylon and so on, in addition to the use of acrylic sheets, acrylic sheets are synthesized from acrylic particles and resin and other materials, while other acrylic textiles are fibers made of acrylic, they do not belong to the same category.Many times we feel that acrylic is a new material, but in fact it has been invented for more than a hundred years, as early as 1872 this chemical polymer was discovered until 1920 in the laboratory synthesized the first acrylic sheet, 1927 finally in the factory complete manufacturing of acrylic sheet, the first manufactured acrylic was only used in aircraft, the end of the last century with the improvement and maturity of the production process, acrylic began to be widely used in many industries.Now, acrylic has become an important material in many industries, such as as acrylic blocks frame, acrylic photo frame, car lights, optical lenses, transparent pipes and crafts, etc..
Characteristics of acrylic：
Acrylic has a very high transparency, visual clarity, can reach more than 92% light transmission rate, the light transmission rate of ordinary glass is only about 85%, can reach the transparency of optical glass, even after dyeing also has a good transparency, which increases the display and aesthetic effect of acrylic.Thanks to the special material properties, the strength of acrylic is more than a dozen times that of ordinary glass, and glass can be compared with a strong to describe it, made of acrylic products will be very durable, transparent products are most afraid of being scratched, acrylic due to its high strength, so it is also one of the most wear-resistant transparent materials.Acrylic begins to soften at 113 degrees Celsius, the melting point at 160 degrees Celsius, this temperature makes it very high plasticity, made into any shape becomes easy.Acrylic on temperature and humidity changes, as well as acid and alkaline substances have a high resistance, it is very suitable for outdoor applications.Although acrylic has many advantages, but also has some disadvantages, first of all, its price is more expensive than glass, it is difficult to completely replace the glass; secondly, because of its low ignition point, directly exposed to the flame will melt and eventually burn, burning will also release toxic fumes, so the use of power tools plus cutting high temperature, it will be easy to deformation bending.Acrylic belongs to a polymerized polymer material, which is a thermoplastic, yes, you read that right, it is a plastic.Acrylic is the use of monomeric polymerization of methyl methacrylate, so what is the difference between acrylic and other plastics? Why is obviously plastic but it is called “glass”?This is still due to the many similar characteristics of acrylic and glass, some advantages over glass, there are advantages that can perfectly make up for the shortcomings of glass.Transparent materials are one of the most common materials used in many industries, and designers and manufacturers often choose these transparent polymers as an alternative when traditional glass is too heavy or breaks too easily.And acrylic has just these characteristics of glass or transparent materials, but it really is not glass, so it will be called plexiglass.
Acrylic production process:
Acrylic production process and other plastics are similar, only in the specific temperature and the addition of catalysts will vary, there are three main molding methods, casting molding, injection molding and extrusion molding.
Casting molding:
Cast molding requires a mold into which the molten acrylic is poured and left for several hours until it becomes semi-solid and can be removed from the mold.After the sheet leaves the mold, it is transferred to an autoclave, a special machine that functions similarly to a pressure cooker and an oven. The autoclave uses heat and pressure to squeeze air bubbles out of the plastic, giving it a higher clarity and greater strength, and the acrylic usually takes several hours in the autoclave.After removing the molded acrylic from the autoclave, the surface and edges need to be sanded several times, first with a small grain of sandpaper and then with a soft cloth wheel to ensure a smooth and transparent acrylic surface.
Extrusion molding:
The acrylic pellet raw material is added to the extrusion machine, which heats the raw material until about 150°C and allows it to become viscous.It is then fed between two roller presses, which flatten the molten plastic by pressure into a uniform sheet, and then the sheet is cooled, thus curing the acrylic sheet.The sheet is cut to the desired size and is ready for use after grinding and polishing. Extrusion molding can only press out thinner sheets and does not create other shapes or thicker sheets.
Injection molding:
Like other plastic products injection molding, acrylic is also acrylic pellets into a plunger or screw injection molding machine, through high temperature to melt the raw material into a paste.Then inject it into the abrasive cavity molding, through the hot air circulation drying into a fixed shape, after grinding and polishing can be used.Today, the use of acrylic is increasing every year; although acrylic is one of the oldest plastics in use today, its optical transparency and resistance to outdoor environments make it still the material of choice for many industrial applications.
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