I believe everyone uses acrylic and plastic in their daily lives. Acrylic is a highly transparent thermoplastic material, while plastic is a synthetic substance made of polymer materials, with many types. Today, i will explain the differences between them in detail for you. After reading the entire article, you will be able to understand which material is better for you!
Acrylic & Plastic Explaind
Acrylic is also called plexiglass (PMMA). It looks like glass but is lighter and more impact-resistant. This material can be used for various types of processing. Its main applications are in furniture decoration, optical equipment, and other fields.
Plastic is a polymer compound with many different types and varying properties. It is lightweight, strong plasticity, and low cost, and is widely used in daily necessities, electronic products, building materials, and other fields.
Difference Between Acrylic And Plastic
1.Transparency
Acrylic is a highly transparent material with a transparency of up to 92%, almost equivalent to glass. Because of its characteristics, the material is widely used in lamps, display stands and other fields. However, only some materials in plastics have light translucency, such as polycarbonate (PC) and some polyester (PET), but the transparency is much lower than acrylic. So if you want to choose the material based on this point, acrylic is the best choice.
2. Hardness
Acrylic has a high hardness, with a Rockwell hardness of about 85-90 (R scale), so its surface will generally not be scratched during use, and its wear resistance can be said to be very strong. In comparison, plastics contain a wide variety of materials, the hardness of each material is naturally different. For example, polyethylene (PE), which has a lower hardness, a Rockwell hardness below 60, while polyester (PET) has a higher hardness, with a Rockwell hardness between 80-90 (R scale). Therefore, when choosing a material, you need to make a decision based on your specific needs.
3. Weather Resistance
Regarding weather resistance, acrylic is also more effective than plastics. The ultraviolet resistance of acrylic is very excellent and has good adaptability to temperature changes, so it is not easy to age after long-term use. The performance of plastics is relatively average, and the color will gradually turn yellow.
4. Cost
As for the cost you are most concerned about, acrylic is relatively expensive, while plastic is much cheaper and better suited for clients’ large-scale production needs.
5. Machinability
In fact, acrylic and plastic are very good in terms of machinability. Acrylic is more suitable for easy cutting, drilling, forming and other processing operations, and polishing to improve the gloss. Plastics can be extrusion, injection molding and thermoforming, and are highly malleable and perform well in mass production and simple molding.
6. Weight
Weight is probably one of the things you are concerned about. The weight of acrylic is relatively light, with a density of about 1.18 g/cm³, which is about 50% lighter than glass. The weight of different types of plastics varies, but overall it is still lighter than acrylic, such as polyethylene (PP) and polypropylene (PE).
7. Chemical Resistance
In terms of chemical resistance, acrylic is more average and is more susceptible to solvents, which leads to corrosion or dissolution. On the other hand, plastics have excellent chemical resistance and are well tolerated by most chemical substances (including acids and alkalis). It is very suitable for chemical storage containers.
8. Color Selection
Finally, I will introduce you to the comparison of the colors of the two. Acrylic supports dyeing, and there are many types of colors selected. Since this material can absorb dye well, the dyeing effect is still very obvious. Common dyeing methods include dipping and spraying. Plastics have different dyeing effects due to their diverse materials, but most of them are pretty good. Even if some materials have poor dyeing properties, they can now be used to add masterbatches to achieve color changes. You can comprehensively consider the specific dyeing needs and application scenarios.
As shown above, acrylic and plastic have their own advantages and disadvantages. You can clearly understand which material is more suitable for you to use by comparing the differences between them.
Manufacturing Process for Acrylic & Plastic
Acrylic and plastic are also obviously different in the Manufacturing process, and I will explain it in detail for you.
The first is acrylic. The production of parts of this type of material usually uses free radical polymerization. At high temperature and catalyst action, the acrylic monomer is polymerized into a polymer. During the process, the thermal molding and cold processing can also be used, and the final product can also improve gloss and durability through polishing or coating.
Then there is plastic, and most of the products of this type of material are made by adding polyreactions (such as polyethylene, polypropylene) or polycondensation reactions (such as polyester). The molding techniques include injection molding, extrusion molding, blow molding, etc. As for the final surface treatment, the beauty and functionality can be enhanced through spraying, printing, etc.
Conclusion
In summary, both acrylic and plastic have become two indispensable materials in our lives. They are now widely used in many fields. Through the above introduction, I believe you have already understood their choice of use. Of course, our DSR company also supports CNC acrylic service and custom plastic machining services. We can manufacture various types of components according to your requirements.. If you are interested, you can communicate with us!
