Six uses for acrylic sheet by PLEXIGLAS® is just the beginning…

With its versatility, durability and sheer beauty, PLEXIGLAS® is revolutionising design and function.  PLEXIGLAS® Acrylic Sheet is being used in new and innovative ways in the architectural, commercial, signage, infrastructure and transport industries alike.

What is PLEXIGLAS® Acrylic Sheet?

PLEXIGLAS® Acrylic is impact resistant, weather resistant and has noise reducing properties.  This makes it ideal for use in a wide variety of applications.  It is available in clear, coloured, opaque, translucent in varying thicknesses. It comes as blocks, flats sheets, corrugated sheets, moulding compounds and rods.

Closely resembling glass but with more versatility, acrylic sheet is renowned for its strength and workability.  This is why it has been utilised extensively in the automotive and aviation industries for 75 years.

Today PLEXIGLAS® Acrylic applications extend well beyond functionality to architecture, interior design, manufacturing and more. 

Acrylic Sheet Applications

From the highways to the high-rise and high end retailers, acrylic sheet is being used in places you may never expect.

Domestic Applications

The domestic applications of PLEXIGLAS® are only beginning to be fully explored. From furniture to splash backs and (benchtops,) shower recesses, it’s being used to replace traditional glass, laminate and stone in a more cost effective, durable way.

Found everywhere from bathrooms to kitchens, skylights, windows, and tabletops, PLEXIGLAS® offers water resistance, weather resistance, and heat resistance, and it’s available in a series of product lines and looks.

Varieties like PLEXIGLAS® (Mineral) Hi Gloss (even take on the appearance of natural stone) for use in bathrooms (shop fittings) or kitchens, while PLEXIGLAS® LED is used to create a new dimension in lighting with specialty products for edge lighting, back lighting and side lighting when used in combination for LEDs.

The formable properties of PLEXIGLAS® also make it suitable for furniture design, feature walls, partitions, and ornate lighting fixtures, while its durability and ease of maintenance make it a great option for patio roofing, pool fences, greenhouses and skylights.

Commercial Applications for Acrylic Sheet

From the cake cabinet at the coffee shop to the point of sale kiosk at the high end retailer, PLEXIGLAS® is applied throughout the commercial realm. Its uses include machinery guards in factories, vending machine glass, walls for bus shelters, stadium barriers, aquariums and glasshouses.

(Corrugated) Sheets like PLEXIGLAS® (Alltop) Resist can be found on commercial roofing and glazing, while PLEXIGLAS® Hi-Gloss and PLEXIGLAS ® Satin Ice is used extensively for product displays, ambient lighting and shop fittings.

Able to focus, diffuse, and screen light, it is resistant to scratching, chemicals, weather and noise.

Architectural Acrylic Sheet Applications

Half the weight glass, but mouldable and more impact resistant, PLEXIGLAS® provides architects with design opportunities limited only by their imagination.

Whether used as a facade, to allow in light, or to sculpt uniquely shaped features including roofing, it can be applied to delicate structures and functional areas alike, and is approved for overhead glazing, including fall-proof and weather resistant areas. Recent spectacular uses include high-rise, rooftop pool casings where even beneath water, swimmers enjoy a room with a view.

Meanwhile specialist finishes like (PLEXIGLAS® Mineral), PLEXIGLAS® Reflections, PLEXIGLAS® Satinice, and PLEXIGLAS® Textures give architects and designers access to innovative patterns, designs and textures to create unique and functional spaces with colourfast materials that are weather, UV and scratch resistant.

Transport Uses for Acrylic Sheet

Since it was first created, PLEXIGLAS® has played a role in the transport industry. Every airline passenger has gazed through it while looking out the windows, while pilots rely on its strength in fine weather and foul via their windscreen.

Found in helicopters, planes, trains and automobiles, PLEXIGLAS® is 11 times more impact resistant than glass. 

Infrastructure Applications for Transparent Acrylic

Gone are the days when noise reduction beside high traffic areas relied on the use of concrete barricades, embankments and tree plantings. PLEXIGLAS® offers an aesthetically pleasing alternative with clear or colourful options for applications like noise barriers.

Since PLEXIGLAS® Soundstop was first developed in 1980 it has been used extensively around the world near motorways and high traffic areas including Sydney’s M5 Freeway and international airport. It’s also employed for wind reduction on structures like bridges.

Not only are clear or coloured noise reduction barriers more attractive, but they provide better safety for drivers due to greater visibility, impact resistance and shatter proofing.

Acrylic Sheet for Signage

For the signage industry, PLEXIGLAS® has opened a world of doors in terms of unique design and artistic endeavours. These days, not only can PLEXIGLAS® be used to protect printed signs, but images can even be transferred directly onto it creating boundless potential in terms of signage, lighting and art installations.

As PLEXIGLAS® comes in rods, tubes, blocks, and sheets, and is formable it allows signage to take on different shapes, while offering durability.

Get in Touch with us at Plastral 

Plastral is a premier supplier of PLEXIGLAS® in Australia and New Zealand. We have a range of solutions for all industries and can offer advice on its application. You can learn more about our PLEXIGLAS® products and services here.