Any other name we call a rose will smell good. "Shakespeare's words also apply to polymethyl methacrylate, because no matter how you call it, it is still the same plastic. Polymethyl methacrylate is known under various trade names, such as Perspex, Plexiglas, and Altuglas. The acronym PMMA It is also widely used, but in the industry it is often referred to as acrylic. In this article you can find more information about this plastic.

Acrylate is a so-called thermoplastic, which means that it softens when heated, which shapes the acrylic resin into the most diverse form. Acrylate is widely used as a substitute for glass because it offers many advantages over glass. First, acrylic is much lighter than glass and half as light. Secondly, acrylate has stronger impact resistance, which is 30 times lower than glass. If acrylic breaks, it won't break like glass, but one break will occur. The third advantage of acrylic is that it transmits more light than glass, and the transmittance of polymethyl methacrylate is 90%. Of course, for larger plate thicknesses, this plastic visibly transmits more light than glass of the same thickness.
 

The production of polymethyl methacrylate began in the 1930s and was first introduced to the market by the American company Rohm and Haas in 1936. The basic materials are sulfuric acid, hydrogen cyanide, methanol and acetone. These are not the safest substances, but the final product is completely harmless. Polymethyl methacrylate is flammable, but if it burns, it will not form any harmful substances at all. The residual products are carbon dioxide and water.
 

Polymethyl methacrylate also has some disadvantages: as we have already mentioned, the material deforms under the influence of high temperatures. It is therefore not heat resistant and therefore cannot be used for safety applications, such as glass windows in passenger vehicles. Due to its weight, strength, and relatively low price, acrylic is often used for glazing large surfaces, such as wind and sound barriers. Due to its strength, acrylic is widely used in very large aquariums and basins in zoos. This requires a glass thickness of up to 30 cm. If ordinary glass is used, the transparency will be too low, and the glass window will be too heavy.
 

Points to consider when buying

There are two types of PMMA commercially available: cast (GS) and extruded (XT) acrylic sheets. After the production process, the cast version is cast into a flat plate. After casting, the extruded type is rolled to a thinner thickness. As the thickness decreases, the sheet surface increases, making it easier to make larger sheets. The disadvantage is that the stress in the sheet increases, so the sheet extruded during processing is prone to cracking and breaking. The so-called "budget acrylic" is also not always UV resistant, it is important to know if the material is used as glass.