ACRYLIC VS POLYCARBONATE

ACRYLIC VS POLYCARBONATE

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Comparing Acrylic (a.k.a. PLEXIGLAS, Plexiglass or Perspex) To Polycarbonate (a.k.a. Makrolon or Lexan)

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One of our most asked questions is some variation of “Would acrylic or polycarbonate be better for my application?”

These products are very similar to look at and, in many applications, either of these would be suitable, but their different properties will often determine which one is better suited.

First, let’s cover some basic info on these products.

Acrylic

Acrylic is the common name for a plastic called PMMA (poly methyl methacrylate).

This is what you’ll often hear people refer to as Perspex or Plexiglas and it comes in many forms such as sheets, rods and hollow tubes.

Some key properties of acrylic are:

  • Light weight
  • High clarity (clearer than glass)
  • Good impact resistance
  • Easy to cut, drill and fabricate
  • Excellent UV stability

Some common applications for acrylic are:

  • Pool fences
  • Sneeze screens
  • Covers for art works
  • Signs
  • Shop displays
  • Windows (double glazing, boat windscreens, shed windows etc.)

Polycarbonate

Polycarbonate is another plastic which many people know by common brand names such as Makrolon or Lexan. Again, these are just common brand names for polycarbonate, or ‘polycarb’ as it’s often abbreviated.

Polycarbonate is usually sold in sheet form (not in rods and tubes like acrylic) and is most widely used for its resistance to impact, because in most cases it’s extremely hard to break!

Some key characteristics of polycarbonate are:

  • Very high impact resistance (up to 200x that of glass)
  • Light weight
  • High clarity
  • Can be to cut and drilled
  • Good UV stability (our grades all UV protected)

Some common application or uses for polycarbonate are:

  • Safety glazing (machine guards etc.)
  • Security screens
  • Signage
  • Windows
  • Light fixtures

Why would you use acrylic instead of polycarbonate?

  1. Lower cost
  2. Better UV stability
  3. Easier to cut and fabricate
  4. Wider range of sizes, thicknesses, colours and types
  5. Higher scratch resistance than polycarbonate

What would you use polycarbonate instead of acrylic?

  1. Greater impact resistance
  2. Better fire resistance than acrylic, as it’s self-extinguishing

Australia’s Best Range Of Plastics At Your Fingertips

Here at Plastic Warehouse, we offer the Australia’s largest range of plastic sheet products, direct to the public.

You can order standard size sheets and custom “Cut to Size” panels directly from our product pages. On the desired product page simply select “Cut to Size” from the drop down option.

You can view our range of acrylic sheets here.

You can view our range of polycarbonate sheets here.

If you have any queries or need further information on our acrylic sheet range, please check out our FAQ’s page here or drop us an email here.