Technical Resources

The decisions buyers get wrong most often — material choice, thickness, naming, cleaning and why panels fail.

Most enquiries we receive contain the same handful of misunderstandings. This page answers them once, in the open, rather than one email at a time.

None of it is proprietary. If it helps you specify correctly — even if you then buy somewhere else — that is a better outcome for us than a returned container.

Polycarbonate or acrylic: the short answer

Ask what happens when someone hits it. If the answer involves injury, liability or an insurance claim, use polycarbonate. If the answer is “we replace the panel”, acrylic is cheaper and looks better.

	Polycarbonate	Acrylic (PMMA)
Impact strength	~200× glass — deforms, recovers	~10× glass — cracks
Light transmission	Up to 90%	Up to 92%
Surface hardness	Scratches easily unless hard-coated	Noticeably harder
UV stability	Needs a co-extruded UV layer	Inherently stable
Cold	Stable to −40 °C	Brittle below 0 °C
Heat	To 120 °C	Softens 80–100 °C
Fire	B1, self-extinguishing at 580 °C	Burns readily
Cost	Higher	Lower

Perspex, plexiglass, PMMA, acrylic — all the same thing

This causes more confusion in international trade than any other naming issue:

Acrylic — the generic name, standard in North America and Asia.
PMMA — polymethyl methacrylate, the polymer name used in technical specifications.
Perspex — a UK brand name that became generic in Britain, Ireland and Australia.
Plexiglass — the same story in Germany and North America.

All four describe one material. A specification calling for “perspex” and one calling for “cast PMMA” can be filled from the same pallet. What genuinely differs is cast versus extruded — that distinction is real and matters far more than the name.

Polycarbonate has its own aliases: PC, compact sheet, solid sheet, including solid, compact and multiwall trade names.

Choosing thickness

Thickness is set by span, load and impact — never by preference or by matching whatever the last supplier sent.

Application	Typical	What actually decides it
Display cases, signage	3–5 mm	Panel size and bonding method
Secondary glazing	3–6 mm	Aperture area
Machine guarding	4–12 mm	Mass and velocity of what could be released
Roofing (multiwall)	6–16 mm	Purlin spacing and snow load
Shelving	8–10 mm	Deflection over time, not breaking strength
Splashbacks	3–6 mm	Run length and fixing method

Send the span, the load and the fixing arrangement with your enquiry and we will specify it — including when the honest answer is that the material is wrong for the job.

Cleaning — where most avoidable damage comes from

Use: warm water, mild soap, a soft cloth or sponge, rinsed often.

Never use: ammonia-based glass cleaner, methylated spirits, acetone, paper towel, abrasive pads, or a dry cloth on a dusty panel.

Paper towel is the surprise on that list. It is wood fibre, and it abrades plastic far more than people expect. A year of cleaning a clear panel with paper towel and glass cleaner produces exactly the hazy, micro-scratched surface that gets blamed on “cheap plastic”.

Five ways panels fail in service

1. UV face installed downwards. The protected side is marked on the film. Fitted upside down, outdoor polycarbonate yellows in two to three years instead of lasting fifteen.

2. Multiwall ribs run across the slope. Channels must run down the fall so condensation drains. Across it, water sits in the flutes and algae grows.

3. No allowance for thermal movement. Both materials move about 3 mm per metre over a 50 °C swing. Oversize the fixing holes and do not clamp hard.

4. The wrong sealant. Acetoxy (vinegar-smelling) silicone attacks polycarbonate and causes crazing weeks later. Use neutral-cure.

5. Chemical crazing from coolant or cleaners. Fine cracks that destroy impact strength while the panel still looks intact — the dangerous one, because a machine guard can pass a visual check and fail a real impact.

Minimum order and lead time

For polycarbonate sheet buying resources enquiries, Plastura’s Jiangsu team confirms the specification, quantity, fabrication scope, destination, and delivery target before quoting. Standard stock sizes and colours normally run in 7–10 days; non-standard extrusion in 12–18 days; allow another 3–7 days for CNC work. The published starting point is 100 m² or 1 tonne, quoted in USD on FOB, CIF or DDP terms. See MOQ, lead time and shipping for planning details.

Questions buyers ask

Is perspex stronger than acrylic?

They are the same material — perspex is a brand name for acrylic (PMMA). Neither is stronger than the other. If you need genuinely higher impact strength, the answer is polycarbonate.

Which is cheaper, acrylic or polycarbonate?

Acrylic, typically by a meaningful margin at the same thickness. Polycarbonate costs more because it performs where acrylic cannot — impact, cold and fire.

Can I glue polycarbonate the way I bond acrylic?

Not the same way. Acrylic is solvent bonded and the joint is effectively the same material. Polycarbonate does not solvent bond well and is normally mechanically fixed or joined with a structural adhesive.

Do you provide test data and material certificates?

Yes — resin supplier certification and batch traceability. For a specific certified test against a named standard, tell us which one and we will confirm what we can provide before you order. See quality control.

Request a quote MOQ & shipping

Buyer planning module

This page defines document discovery for the TDS, SDS, COA, test, and certification documents connected to Plastura orders.

For: It is for engineers and procurement teams that collect material documentation before approval or shipment.

Key variables: Variables are document type, product and grade, language, revision, evidence status, and public or private.

Limit: No public document library with issue dates is published yet, so ask which documents can be provided for your order.

Next step: List the documents you need in the RFQ, then ask which revisions and which documents can be provided for your order.

Multiwall polycarbonate profile reference for material selection. Confirm grade, thickness, performance requirements, and order-specific documents in the RFQ.

This page is a document-discovery entry point, not a published library. No public TDS, SDS, COA, test, or certification documents are currently registered with issue dates and revisions; ask which documents can be provided for your order.

Categories you may need: material selection guides, product TDS, SDS, COA examples, test and certification summaries, fabrication guides, installation, cleaning and storage guides, and trade or RFQ guides.

For each document you need, confirm title, type, product and grade, language, and whether a revision or translation is required.

Ask in the RFQ which documents can be provided with the shipment, which are available on request, and which remain private.

When to use the resources page

Choose this when	Do not choose this when
your buyer or compliance team requires material documentation before approval or shipment	you need a certified report for a specific standard; ask which reports can be provided

Document categories and current evidence status

Property	Value	Unit	Product Grade	Thickness Specimen	Test Method Standard	Evidence Status	Qualification
Material selection guides	Confirm against required standard and order grade	n/a	order-specific	n/a	n/a	not registered yet — ask in the RFQ which selection guides can be shared	no public guide is currently registered
Product TDS	Confirm against required standard and order grade	n/a	order-specific grade	n/a	n/a	no public TDS on file — request one for your grade	no public TDS is currently registered
SDS	Confirm against required standard and order grade	n/a	order-specific grade	n/a	n/a	ask which SDS matches your product and destination	no public SDS is currently registered
COA examples	Confirm against required standard and order grade	n/a	order-specific grade	n/a	n/a	no public COA example on file — request one with the RFQ	no public COA example is currently registered
Test and certification summaries	Confirm against required standard and order grade	n/a	order-specific grade	n/a	n/a	not registered yet — ask which test or certification summaries can be shared	no public test or certification summary is currently registered
Fabrication guides	Confirm against required standard and order grade	n/a	order-specific	n/a	n/a	no public fabrication guide on file — request one when you plan CNC parts	no public fabrication guide is currently registered
Installation, cleaning, and storage guides	Confirm against required standard and order grade	n/a	order-specific	n/a	n/a	ask which installation or care guide applies to your order	no public installation or storage guide is currently registered
Trade and RFQ guides	Confirm against required standard and order grade	n/a	order-specific	n/a	n/a	no public trade guide on file — request one when you prepare an order	no public trade guide is currently registered

Limitations

Document availability, language, and revision are not published here; ask which documents can be provided. Nothing on this page is a published certificate.
Private reports are not exposed; request them through the RFQ.
This page routes document discovery; quality records live on the quality page.

RFQ checklist

Documents required (title, type, product and grade, language)
Whether a revision or translation is needed
Whether documents must accompany the shipment
Destination and required standard

Evidence handling

Review date: 2026-08-26. Fact owner: Unassigned — owner approval required. Applicable grade: order-specific grades.

The date on this page is the local draft evidence-gate review date, not a company fact-verification or department approval date. Ask in the RFQ which TDS, SDS, COA, test, or certification documents can be provided.

Ask in the RFQ whether a COA example or certificate copy can be provided for the document category you need.

Related buyer paths

Submit the page-specific details in a quote request