Everything You Need to Know About Acrylic (also known as Polymethylmethacrylate) from ndpetrify4's blog

What is Acrylic (also known as PMMA) and what is it used for is a common question.

Acrylic is a transparent thermoplastic homopolymer that is more commonly known by the trade name "plexiglass." Acrylicis a thermoplastic homopolymer that is transparent. Similarly to polycarbonate, this material can be used as an impact-resistant alternative to glass (especially when the high impact strength of PC is not required). The Rohm and Haas Company introduced it to the market in 1928, five years after it was first manufactured and introduced. It is widely regarded as one of the most transparent plastics available on the market. It was first used in WWII for submarine periscopes, airplane windows, turrets, and canopies, and it has since been used in a variety of other applications. Airmen who had their eyes injured by shards of broken acrylic fared significantly better than those who had their eyes injured by shards of shattered glass.

Acrylic is used for a variety of applications in the modern era and in general, most of which take advantage of the material's natural transparency and the impact resistance of certain variants. Lenses, acrylic nails, paint, security barriers, medical devices, LCD screens, and furniture are just a few of the many applications. Because of its clarity, it is also frequently used for windows, tanks, and enclosures around exhibits in addition to other applications.

Acrylic is a material that is readily available and reasonably priced. When material strength is not a deciding factor, it is a good substitute for polycarbonate in many applications. The scratch resistance of acrylic is sometimes laminated on top of the impact strength of polycarbonate (PC) in order to obtain the benefits of both materials. A type of bullet resistant "glass" is created in this manner. The PC is responsible for stopping the bullet, and the  Acrylic on the outside is there to provide scratch resistance during normal use.

What are the characteristics of acrylic (also known as PMMA) plastic?

Now that we understand what Acrylic is used for, let's take a look at some of its most important characteristics. It is classified as a "thermoplastic" (as opposed to a "thermoset"), and the term "thermoplastic" refers to the way in which the plastic reacts when exposed to heat. The melting point of thermoplastic materials (in the case of acrylic, 160 degrees Celsius) is the temperature at which they become liquid. Among thermoplastics' many advantageous properties is that they can be heated to their melting point, cooled, and then heated again without experiencing any significant degradation. Instead of burning, thermoplastics such as acrylic liquefy, allowing them to be easily injected molded and then recycled after their use.

A thermoset plastic, on the other hand, can only be heated once, which is typically during the injection molding process. Because of the first heating, thermoset materials become set (similar to a 2-part epoxy), resulting in a chemical change that is irreversible. In the event that you attempted to heat a thermoset plastic to a high temperature for a second time, it would simply burn up. It is because of this property that thermoset materials are poor candidates for recycling.