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Polycarbonate and acrylic are new materials commonly used in life. They are widely used in building materials, automobile industry, interior decoration and other fields. So what are the advantages and disadvantages between them? How to choose?
Acrylic Sheet
Acrylic is also called specially treated organic glass. It is a replacement product of organic glass. It is a chemical material with the chemical name “PMMA”. The light box made of acrylic has good light transmittance, pure color, rich color, beautiful and flat, taking into account both day and night effects, long service life, and no impact on use.
Advantages:
Good light transmittance, up to more than 92%, the required light intensity is small, saving electricity.
Good weather resistance, strong adaptability to the natural environment, commonly used in interior decoration.
Impact resistance is slightly weaker than PC, but it is also 16 times that of ordinary glass, suitable for installation in areas where safety is particularly needed.
Light weight, half lighter than ordinary glass.
Bright colors and high brightness are unmatched by other materials.
Good processing performance, can be processed into various shapes desired by the factory.
Disadvantages:
Ordinary acrylic sheets are easy to crack, break, and deform due to their low hardness, poor heat resistance, and low elongation. They are also unstable in color and prone to fuzzing during use. The molded bathtubs are generally prone to color changes due to the large bottom stretching. Usually, discoloration phenomena such as “whitening” and “yellowing” can be seen at the corners of the bottom.
Acrylic sheets, as organic materials, contain substances that are harmful to the human body and should not be in direct contact with the skin for a long time.
Polycarbonate sheets
PC sheets, also known as polycarbonate sheets, are mainly composed of polycarbonate. They are high-tech, extremely excellent in comprehensive performance, energy-saving and environmentally friendly plastic sheets. They are widely used plastic building materials internationally and have advantages that other building decoration materials (such as glass, plexiglass, etc.) cannot match.
Advantages:
Good light transmittance, Polycarbonate sheet light transmittance can reach 89%, which is comparable to glass. The UV coating contained will not produce yellowing, fogging, poor light transmittance and other phenomena under sunlight exposure
Strong impact resistance, 250-300 times that of ordinary glass, 30 times that of acrylic board of the same thickness, 2-20 times that of tempered glass, no cracks even if dropped from two meters with a 3kg hammer, and it is known as “unbreakable glass” and “ringing steel”.
Anti-ultraviolet, the surface of the PC sheet is coated with an anti-ultraviolet (UV) coating, which can effectively block ultraviolet rays from passing through.
Light weight, only half the weight of ordinary glass.
Flame retardant, PC board is difficult to burn, that is, B1 level, its own ignition point is 580 degrees Celsius, it will extinguish itself after leaving the fire, and will not produce toxic gases when burning, and will not contribute to the spread of fire.
Sound insulation: PC sheet has obvious sound insulation effect, and has better sound insulation than glass and acrylic board of the same thickness. Under the condition of the same thickness, the sound insulation of PC board is 3-4DB higher than that of glass. It is the preferred material for highway sound barriers internationally.
It has good processing performance and can be processed into various shapes desired by the factory.
Disadvantages:
PC board is not resistant to strong acids and alkalis,
Compared with metal plates, the surface wear resistance is poor, and the surface can be hardened.
The price is more expensive than organic glass.
In general, PC and acrylic have their own advantages and disadvantages. Focusing on safety protection, impact resistance and UV resistance, PC is preferred; if high light transmittance is required but not so much hardness, acrylic can be used.