Clear Extruded Acrylic Sheet

Yes, of course. Orders can be collected from our premises in Colchester, Essex. At the final stage of the checkout process there is a delivery option labelled "Collection/pickup" which is free. Once your order is complete, you will be notified by email along with our address and collection times.

Yes. We offer an express delivery service which aims to deliver all orders in 1-3 working days. Orders are delivered by a recognised courier company and may require a signature on delivery.

Acrylic sheet can be cut using a circular saw, a jigsaw or any type of saw with a fine tooth blade. We recommend laying the acrylic flat on a firm surface, such as a workbench, and clamping it down before cutting. If you are using clamps to hold the material down, we suggest placing wood between the clamps and acrylic sheet to prevent any damage to the surface of the acrylic. Manufacturer safety precautions should always be followed when using any type of saw. Please read our "how to cut acrylic sheets" blog post for more detailed information.

Acrylic should not be cleaned using chemical cleaners because they can cause damage to the acrylic. We recommend cleaning acrylic sheet with warm soapy water and a soft cloth. There are various acrylic cleaners and polishers available which we can provide that keep acrylic looking like brand new.

When we cut an acrylic sheet to size, the saw blade/router toolbit produces a matte finish on the edges of the panel. We use a technique called diamond polishing to polish the edges to a bright, smooth and glossy finish.

Our diamond edge-polishing machine polishes the edge of acrylic by running a rotating, diamond tipped wheel along the edge of the material.

You can read more about the techniques used to polish Perspex® in our blog post, The Ultimate Guide to Polishing Perspex®.

Yes. We offer an express delivery service which aims to deliver all orders in 1-3 working days. Orders are delivered by a recognised courier company and may require a signature on delivery.

Acrylic is manufactured in two versions - cast and extruded. Cast acrylic is made by pouring the hot liquid acrylic ingredients between two sheets of glass which are separated by rubber gaskets - the thickness of the gasket determines the thickness of the acrylic sheet being made. The sealed glass plates are placed into an oven and allowed to heat during which the chemical processes and changes take place. Finally, the sheets are allowed to cool. Cast acrylic is commonly used for glazing, signage and retail displays. Extruded acrylic is made by pouring hot liquid acrylic ingredients into a form or die before the acrylic is forced through rollers which leaves the material with an even thickness and finish. Cast acrylic is generally regarded as a better quality material and offers a number of advantages over the extruded variant such as being more resistant to chemicals and solvents, less prone to scratching, easier to machine and fabricate and available in a far wider range of colours and surface finishes i.e. gloss/matte. Extruded acrylic is commonly used for lighting applications, interior decoration and screening.

Cast acrylic is generally regarded as a better quality material and offers a number of advantages over the extruded variant such as having a higher optical clarity and superior surface finish, being more resistant to chemicals and solvents, less prone to scratching, easier to machine and fabricate and available in a far wider range of colours and surface finishes i.e. gloss/matte. The manufacturing process for cast acrylic is longer and more complex than that of extruded acrylic which in-turn generally makes extruded acrylic slightly cheaper.

These two terms are pronounced the same and spelt almost identically, however, Plexiglass is the genericized trademark or proprietary emponym that has become synonymous with acrylic sheeting in most of Europe and North America whereas Plexiglas® is the brand name for acrylic sheets manufactured by Röhm GmbH in Germany. Whilst Plexiglass has become the generic trademark for acrylic sheets in Europe and North America, the brand name Perspex® is synonymous with acrylic sheeting in the UK.

Both Plexiglas® (most commonly spelt Plexiglass) and Perspex® are brand names of Acrylic sheet. Röhm GmbH, based in Germany, are the manufacturers of Plexiglas® whereas Perspex® is manufactured in the UK by Perspex International Limited. Both manufacturers supply a wide range of colours and thicknesses. Whilst the brand names Plexiglas® and Perspex® are different, ultimately the acrylic sheet that they manufacture is the same albeit each manufacturer might tweek the formulation to increase or enhance UV-resistance, light transmission or colour.

When deciding whether Cast Acrylic or Extruded Acrylic is best for your project it’s worth considering the specific application and desired finish you hope to achieve. The table below provides some examples of the most suitable type of acrylic sheet to use for specific applications.

In our experience, whilst some projects/applications will require specific characteristics of either Cast or Extruded Acrylic, in most cases the choice can be made based on either colour, thickness or cost, as below:

• Clear or Colour: Extruded acrylic is generally only manufactured in clear, black and white and therefore if there is a requirement for any other colour, Cast Acrylic is the only choice.
• Thickness: Cast acrylic is commonly manufactured in thicknesses up to 100mm whereas extruded is generally available in a maximum thickness of 20mm (Simply Plastics stock up to 50mm in Cast and 10mm in Extruded).
• Cost: Extruded is marginally cheaper and therefore any requirement for a large quantity of sheets/panels, where the benefits of cast acrylic are not important, is likely to be more cost effective produced in Extruded acrylic.