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, and in Chinese usage 耐力板 (solid) and 阳光板 (multiwall).

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

This grade ships from 100 m² or 1 tonne — a trial pallet, not a full container. Standard sizes and stock colours run in 7–10 days; non-standard thickness or width in 12–18 days; add 3–7 days for CNC cut-to-size work. Quoted in USD on FOB, CIF or DDP terms. Full detail on the MOQ, lead time & shipping page.

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

From the factory