Plexiglass is one of the materials that are gaining popularity with enormous steps. This may be compared to the cigars that gained their popularity all over the world for several decades. The situation here is similar. Since the material has been invented in 1928, it has become one of the most popular materials ever. The mass production of this material started several years later- in 1933. However from that point more and more improvements were made to the original formula. The product that was created in 1928 nowadays is not commonly used. The reason for that is the original formula is not that good. The original formula is actually a polymerization of several molecules of the methyl methacrylate. The polymerization is conducted in special cameras where the temperature is high enough to trigger the polymerization process. This is the point where you add special ingredients to strengthen the properties that Plexiglass already has.
Often the Plexiglass is made in Plexiglass sheets. These are the most common ways to sell them. They are made of Plexiglass pieces that are all bond together. As bonding material it is used the “super glue”. This term has been accepted by many engineers and has become popular. The cutting of these sheets is conducted by laser. This requires special equipment that will enable you to work with laser. You will also need professionals that are well trained to handle the laser job.
The properties of the Plexiglass and Plexiglass sheets are not always the same. The reason for that is the add-ons that are used to make adjustments to the future usage of both of them. For example if you are planning to use the Plexiglass sheets that will cover your open roof, you will need to add ingredients that will make it more resistant to weather conditions, increase the impact strength and etc. You need to enhance the physical properties of the ordinary Plexiglass.
One of the most used add-ons is the crylate comonomers. When used in the place where the Plexiglass is made it strengthens the molecules binding. Because of that the general resistance of this material is increased. Other compounds that are also commonly used are the butyl acrylate monomers. When added to the original formula they increase the impact strength. Because of that the resistance to falling objects will be increase. You may not know but the Plexiglass sheets are commonly used to protect important persons-presidents, prime-ministers and etc. The Plexiglass sheets are sometimes able to resist a fired bullet. This is amazing when compared to the original glass that will break in a million pieces. Other things that are also used very much are the Plasticizers. They also increase the impact strength. Other interesting thing about them is that they also increase the temperature resistance, making the sheets more resistant to weather conditions and etc. Because of that they may be used as a construction tool in many places where the view side must be kept.
