Since the past few years, glass was widely used for most of the applications. But, as the disadvantages of using glass came forward, an alternative was found too in the form of acrylic glass, aka plexiglass. In this article, we will be solving all of your queries regarding plexiglass, including whether it is plastic or not, its properties, and the alternative uses. But, before that, we will be discussing the top 4 reasons for using acrylic glass. So let’s dig in more and explore more about this incredible color plexiglass!
Top 4 Reasons for Using Acrylic Glass
There are so many reasons why acrylic is preferred over other materials, and the top four of these are:
1. Relatively Cheaper
If you’re the type of person who makes a budget of everything before purchasing, then it would be good for you to know that acrylic is much cheaper than glass. Not just this, it requires less energy and money for its production along with that, it comes with better advantages than glass.
2. Extremely Easy to Use
Acrylics are not just easy to be used, but they’re widely used for creativity too. These can be cut, installed, and moved with complete ease. These can be found in various styles like fluorescent acrylic, white and black acrylic, and the colored ones.
3. The Strength and Safety
Acrylic features more strength than that of glass. It can’t be shattered easily, and if it does, it will not be broken into hundreds of small pieces but just one/more or bigger pieces—making itself stronger to be installed in such homes with kids.
4. The Transmission of Light without glares
If you’re the type of person who doesn’t prefer glares and reflections, then acrylic can do the thing for you. Unlike glass, no matter how much thickness of the plexiglass is increased, you will not find any discoloring.
Is Acrylic Truly a Glass?
Are you wondering if plexiglass is actually plastic or glass? If this question is looming over your head, then it won’t be anymore. Plexiglass is composed of plastic material; in short, it is an incredible alternative to glass. Plexiglass is flexible, strong, can’t be shattered easily. The material, which is utilized for making up plexiglass, includes methyl methacrylate’s polymers along with the methacrylic acid’s ester. Due to the fact, plexiglass is an alternative to genuine glass; it is also called ‘acrylic glass.’ It is one of the most preferred and used plastic materials throughout the world. The qualities of acrylic glass make it usable for all of us, but it is easy to be scratched, so its use in mechanical wear isn’t recommended.
An important type of clear plastic: Plexiglass
The major alternative to glass, acrylic glass, is preferred by most of us due to its phenomenal qualities. It is transparent even than the genuine glass with the transmittance factor of ‘0.93,’ which is greater than that of glass. An interesting fact about this acrylic glass is that ‘it allows around 90% of light to pass through it.’ If you’re worried about any sort of reflection or glares, then you don’t have to. As these don’t show any glares or reflections, and even when the thickness is increased, no discoloration is seen in the case of acrylics, unlike glass.
Uses of Plexiglas where Plastic Cannot Serve its Purpose
Plexiglas has multiple uses. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that acrylic glass is used almost everywhere, whether it be the windows of your home, office, wall partitions, canopies, or lighting fixtures. Plastic is easy to break, and it can be molded super easily, so it is not a good choice in many applications. However, acrylic glass features a super lightweight, it is shatterproof, impact weather resistance, and much more; thus, it is a popular choice for numerous applications where plastic can’t serve the purpose.
Top Uses of Acrylic Where Glass Fail to Serve the Purpose
There are so many uses of acrylic glass where the genuine glass can’t serve the purpose. Acrylic has more impact resistance than glass; it is lighter in weight than glass; it is super easy to be fabricated and to make when compared. It doesn’t get shattered into thousands of dangerous pieces like glass. Plexiglass has desirable optical properties, and it is also inexpensive. Some other preferences of acrylic instead of glass are due to the following:
- The insulation of acrylic is way better than that of glass.
- The molding of the items made up of glass is complicated and expensive.
- The weight of acrylic is half of the glass.
- Acrylic glass is stronger than glass, and it is more resistant to scratches (10-20 times more than glass) by the addition of some coatings
- Acrylic is more resistant to strokes when compared to glass.
In a Nutshell
Now you know the benefits of acrylic glass and why it is preferred over the glass by the manufacturers. So, wait no further and get them from a leading company ‘Fab Glass and Mirrors.’
