If you walk into a store and ask for acrylic, you may get whatever the store commonly sells. Plexiglass is a common term used for cell cast acrylic (as is Lucite and Arcylite). Acrylic is a parent name that indicates the type of polymer used in its manufacturing. The most confusing issue about acrylic and Plexiglass are the numerous names used in the plastics industry. The surface is more resistant to chemicals, including solvent cements used for gluing Plexiglass together. Plexiglass has a harder surface so cracking becomes less of an issue.
#Flexiglass cost crack#
However, softer material tends to crack or chip when drilling or cutting it. Standard extruded acrylic is softer, making it ideal for gluing pieces of this material together. The primary mechanical difference between extruded acrylic and Plexiglass is its surface hardness.
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The term Plexiglass is more commonly used for this type of acrylic. The manufacturing costs are higher with cast acrylic, which is reflected in its higher price. Plexiglas is a cell cast acrylic, so it has fewer impurities (tiny ripples or embedded specks). Plexiglas is the original trade or brand name for this type of acrylic. When acrylic is cell cast it is formed in a closed area, which reduces the chances of impurities becoming lodged in the material. Cell cast acrylic has a harder surface because of the casting process. And extruded acrylic can have impurities in its surface. Extruded acrylic is softer than cell cast acrylic, which means it is more susceptible to scratching. The extrusion method is a less expensive way to manufacture acrylic but presents two problems. AcrylicĪcrylic is manufactured in one of two ways. “That is very typical for the industry.While Plexiglas is a trade or brand name, there is a difference in the way it is manufactured compared to standard acrylic. “It’s really come to be more of a spot market,” he said. “Again, materials in April and May were very, very hard to come by.”Īs the market readjusts and settles, a new price balance will emerge, Vaio said. “The demand was so high, we decided to continue the production runs and I had to acquire more,” she said. Helmy said her company used chemicals to create the face shields, and originally had only purchased enough of these chemicals for one production cycle. Getting certain chemicals or personal protective equipment for workers has been more difficult, Helmy agreed. Other materials needed for making the prototype – such as rubbing alcohol, N95 masks, and resin – have seen an increase in demand and price because of the pandemic. The current prototype is being tested, but has required material changes because of the changing supply chain and rising cost of acrylic, he said.Īcrylic isn’t the only snag in the supply chain the team has hit, Placette said. “It’s crazy, because acrylic sheets cost $140 and now it’s like $380 a sheet,” said Drue Placette, a cofounder of CANopener Labs.
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“However the pandemic, acrylic has become a scarce resource, which has created a delay in us being able to do more prototypes,” he said.Īcrylic prices range according to color, size, thickness, and shape. In March, Treviño teamed up with engineers at CANopener Labs, Skunkworks SA, and doctors from the UT Health system to design the ventilator. “We chose to use acrylic to build the ventilator, which provided many opportunities – it’s normally inexpensive, it’s easy to clean, and it is able to be cut with precision,” said City Councilman Roberto Treviño (D1). When a group of San Antonio engineers and designers began working on a makeshift ventilator system four months ago to aid seriously ill COVID-19 patients, acrylic was an affordable material ideal to build with. The supply chain woes have had effects on local innovators, too. So I think this month, things are beginning to look a little bit better.” “They have it available or they can get a hand on it now.
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We have lead times of eight to 10 weeks,’ Helmy said.
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“Today I was requesting quotes on some material and I’m noticing the suppliers are just now not telling me, ‘We’re out. Helmy said she prefers to source materials from San Antonio or Texas directly, but the shortage forced her to order materials from outside of the state.