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8 Things You Didn't Know About Perspex Acrylic Sheets

27

2025-05-15 | By Kitronik Maker

License: See Original Project

Courtesy of Kitronik

Guide by Kitronik Maker

‎As Perspex® Acrylic sheets are one of the most popular materials found in Design and ‎Technology departments we thought it would be interesting to share some facts that many ‎people may not know.‎

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We've picked 8 things that we think many people won't know about this highly versatile and ‎widely used design material.

How many did you know?‎

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Perspex® Is A Brand Name:

Many people don’t realise that Perspex is actually a brand name. Perspex is a premium ‎acrylic which guarantees that it is of the highest quality. The Perspex® Acrylic brand is ‎owned by a company called Lucite International, who are the global leader in Acrylics.‎

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Perspex® Acrylic Is Made in the UK:‎

Perspex sheets are manufactured in Darwen here in the UK. This is one of the reasons we ‎selected them as our acrylic supplier as many of the other brands of acrylic sheet are ‎manufactured outside of the UK.‎

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Perspex® Acrylic Is Older Than You Think:‎

Perspex® cast acrylic was first manufactured in the UK in 1933, a year later it was ‎trademarked. Since then, it has become a household name and can be seen all around us.‎

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Perspex® Sheets as An Alternative to Glass:

Perspex® Acrylic is very light; it weighs less than half the weight of glass for the same sized ‎sheet and is as transparent as optical glass. It’s also very strong and some types of acrylics ‎have a much greater resistance to impact than glass does and when it does shatter, it does ‎so more safely than glass. Perspex is also a better thermal insulator than glass and much ‎easier to work with and shape.‎

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Perspex® Acrylic Can Be Used to Protect Against Light Damage:‎

Special UV grade Perspex® sheets can be used to block damaging ultraviolet light, without ‎making them any less see through. They are so effective that you can find them in Art ‎galleries and Museums around the world protecting exhibits and valuable works of art.‎

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Perspex® Acrylic Is Recyclable:‎

Perspex® Acrylic is fully recyclable and, as such, any off cuts from your Perspex Sheets can ‎be put into your recycle bin. If you have the facilities and the equipment, you can also ‎recycle any off cuts into new items. For some great ideas on recycling check out this What ‎to Do with Scrap Perspex article.‎

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Perspex® Acrylic Can Be Bent into Shape:‎

Although Perspex® Acrylic is hard and rigid it can still be bent into shape. Not only can you ‎use heat to make Perspex® Acrylic more malleable and thus make bending possible, you ‎can also use kerf bending. Kerf bending/cutting is when you cut slots in a material that ‎make it possible to bend the material. A laser cutter offers an ideal way of cutting slots in ‎the Perspex® Acrylic. The cases in the above picture were made using kerf bending, you can ‎find more information on these speakers here.‎

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This Photograph is the property of Just Add Sharks. Used with permission.

Perspex® Acrylic Can Be Engraved, Machined and Routed:‎

Perspex® Acrylic is easy to engrave using either a pantograph, CNC engraving machine or ‎laser cutter. You can also machine and route it provided you follow best practices. Further ‎information on how to work with Perspex® Acrylic can be found on our Working with ‎Materials resource.‎

‎©Kitronik Ltd – You may print this page & link to it but must not copy the page or part thereof ‎without Kitronik's prior written consent.

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