Case Study

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Case Study

PMMA (Acrylic)

2021.09.22

Polymethyl methacrylate, or PMMA for short, is a kind of high molecular polymer, also known as Acrylic or organic glass, with advantages of high transparency, low cost and easy-to-process, etc., is the most common used glass replaced material.



Physical Properties

1. Lower density than glass: The density of PMMA is 1.15-1.19g/cm3, half of that of glass (2.40-2.80g/cm3), and 43% of the density of Aluminum.

2. High Mechanical Strength: After special treatment, the PMMA can be used as anti-bullet clothing, as well as the canopy of aircraft.

3. Low melting point, much lower than that of glass – 1000℃.

4. High Transparency

1) Visible light: The transmittance for visible light reaches up to 92%, higher than that of glass

2) Ultraviolet light: PMMA can prevent the ultraviolet light with wave length less than 300nm effectively, but it’s not very effective for PMMA to prevent that with wavelength of 300-400nm. So engineers perform coating process to improve its effect. The PMMA’s effect of filtrating ultraviolet light is much better than that of PC material.

3) Infrared light: PMMA material allows the infrared light with wavelength shorter than 2800nm, and stop most of the IR light with wavelength between 2800-25,000nm. Some special-treated PMMA material can allows the special IR light through and stop the visible light.

4) The temperature of PMMA to glass-like material is around 105.

 

Chemical Properties

PMMA material has bigger branch chains in its molecular geometry and higher viscosity. Thus, It will be slower if it is processed with thermal processing. But the advantages are, it’s much better to process the PMMA material by CNC milling and drilling, processed to different kind of instruments with acetone, chloroform and some other adhesion agent, and processed to canopy of aircraft, false teeth, dental tray, and so on via blow molding, injection molding and extrusion and other plastic processing techniques.

 

Characteristics of PMMA Materials

1. Colorless and transparent: 90-92% transmittance, strong resilience, 10 times higher than silicone glass;

2. Super optics, insulation, machinability and weatherproofness.

3. Dissolved in carbon tetrachloride, benzene, toluene, dichloroethane, chloroform, acetone and other organic solvent.

4. High transparency and luminance, thermal-proofness, hardness, resilience, etc. Heat deflection temperature at 80and bending strength at 110MPa.

5. Density at 1.14-1.20g/cm3, deflection temperature at 76-116, low shrinking rate at 0.2-0.8%.

 

Applications

PMMA has the advantages of light weight, low price, and easy molding. Dissolved in organic solvents such as anisole, can be processed to be a good film and good dielectric properties, used as a dielectric layer with an airfield effect tube.

 

The forming methods has injection molding, CNC machining, thermal forming, etc. Therefore, the PMMA can be widely used as instrument parts, car light, optic lens and transparent tube.

 

In construction area, PMMA is mainly used in building daylighting body, transparent roof, shed roof, telephone booth, stairs and room wall shields; In sanitary ware sector, PMMA is processed to bathtubs, washbasins, dressers and other products; The PMMA application of highway and high-grade road lighting shades and automotive lamps is also developing rapidly.


With PMMA material, Honpe is able to machine the precision light bar, which is for car exterior and interior decoration, car light lens, cosmetic bottles and many other prototypes. Feel free to let us know your demand.

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