This material is used frequently in skylights, towel holder, bank glazing, aircraft canopies, shelves and numerous display applications.
Acrylic is a great material for producing small panels to large signs, bent part, vacuum formed parts and bonded or glued boxes.
Acrylic bonds extremely well, and can be made with solvent cements and will yield crystal clear joints. A widely used and manufactured material, and called by many trade names, such as: Optix®, Acrylite®, Lucite® L, Plex® and several other brand names.
This material is an excellent choice for windows, POP displays, heat formed parts. A natural for use in replacement of glass. High impact strength in a beautiful package. One of the most widely used resins. Wonderful to work with comes with masking on two sides to protect during fabrication and handling. Cleans well with soft cloth and mild soap and water, please do not use harsh chemicals or abrasive while cleaning.
Excellent clarity- more than glass at over 93%
Exceptional UV Resistant
Half the weight of glass and 10 times the impact strength
Very good fabrication, cutting and finishing
Acrylic is ITAR compliant, and Acrylic is RoHS compliant
These properties are for evaluation purposes only. This information is not to be construed as a warranty, guarantee or assurance that you may achieve the same results. Materials made from different resin types, manufacturing techniques and manufacturers will react differently. The information should be used to compare against other materials only, and each user should make his own tests to determine suitability. No warranty as to this materials suitability are either expressed nor implied.
We are not a plastic material broker. We are a full-line stocking distributor with many materials in stock and on the floor. Some specialty or infrequently ordered materials may need to be special ordered. Our shipping prices for FedEx Ground and UPS are for the United States Only. We prefer to use FedEx shipping services because we have almost zero issues with them, but UPS is also available. Contact us, your local plastic supplier today!
We stock a complete line of plastic materials in basic shapes:
Plastic sheets and plates are available in over 80 different materials in a huge thickness range (from .125” – 6.0” or more in most materials).
Our plastic rods and plastic profiles are also available in over 80 different plastic materials in a huge range of diameters (from .125”– 8.0” or more in most materials).
Industrial Plastic Supply has been an industry leader in Commercial Plastics, Mechanical Plastics and Industrial Plastics since 1975, contact us today. We have the answers to all your plastic questions.
We Care About And Support The Journey To Sustainability
Called and spoke to Jasmine and she was very helpful! Had just left another local plastics supplier annoyed with the help and quote they had just given me. She was MUCH nicer to deal with, and gave me a MUCH better price and a less than 2 day turnaround compared to 2 weeks from the other guys…Looks like IPS will be my new go to for all my plastic related projects!
Ian Volker
1/11/2021
Called and spoke to Jasmine and she was very helpful! Had just left another local plastics supplier annoyed with the help and quote they had just given me. She was MUCH nicer to deal with, and gave me a MUCH better price and a less than 2 day turnaround compared to 2 weeks from the other guys…Looks like IPS will be my new go to for all my plastic related projects!
Ian Volker
1/11/2021
Called and spoke to Jasmine and she was very helpful! Had just left another local plastics supplier annoyed with the help and quote they had just given me. She was MUCH nicer to deal with, and gave me a MUCH better price and a less than 2 day turnaround compared to 2 weeks from the other guys…Looks like IPS will be my new go to for all my plastic related projects!
Plastic doesn’t pollute… People do! Please reuse, reduce and recycle!
News About Plastics
Got Milk… jugs? Now made from HDPE
Why Food Safe HDPE plastic replaced glass as the go-to milk container. Many of you, should you be older than 60, may remember the “Milk Man”. This delivery service from decades ago, was a most common way of transporting milk to the consumer. Back then, suppliers used glass bottles, delivered by this milk man…
Performance plastics are a wide range of materials that are designed for use in mechanical, engineering, aerospace, food processing, and many other applications. These performance plastic materials generally have superior physical properties, and frequently are used to replace other materials like metals, wood and glass…
Why food safe HDPE plastic replaced glass as the go-to milk container.
Many of you, should you be older than 60, may remember the “Milk Man”. This delivery service from decades ago, was a most common way of transporting milk to the consumer. Back then, suppliers used glass bottles, delivered by this milk man, right to your front door.
HDPE is Food Safe
When looking at alternatives, the milk processing industry found a use and benefit from replacing the glass with a plastic called High Density Polyethylene (HDPE). But what is HDPE, and what are the benefits of using it?
Glass is heavy, HDPE plastic is light
One of the characteristics of this thermoplastic is the weight of the material. The reason this is so beneficial brings us back to the milk jug. Old style glass milk containers could hold 32 oz., with the empty glass weighing 1.25 lbs. An empty gallon water or milk jug (128 oz.) weighs in at only 0.25 lbs, and holds 4 times more volume. When full, the milk jug can hold more volume than the glass bottle without compromising the strength, especially when being transported. This lowers the overall transport time and significantly reduces the cost of shipping.
This drop in weight and large increase in capacity is why the industry made the switch. The attribute of high durability in plastic materials like HDPE is known as the “strength to weight ratio”. As already mentioned, this was a huge benefit from switching to HDPE containers – the impact it has on transport costs. The high impact resistance of the material allows for easy transport. The HDPE jugs can withstand the jarring and bumping that is a natural part of mass transit, with almost zero wear or breakage to the product. Compared to the glass bottle, too hard of a turn or a pothole in the road could lead to the disheartening sound of shattering glass… not an ideal result for the distributing company. The HDPE impact resistance still holds true through out the supply chain, and even when the containers enter a store or home. If a HDPE milk jug should fall, the plastic container may spill, but it won’t cause the harm or damage that glass would. Broken glass poses a hazard and a risk, whereas plastic in this case can be easily cleaned, recycled, and used again.
When discussing this topic, the argument of recycling and sustainability sets its sights on plastics. In reality, the carbon footprint of plastics is much smaller than that of glass. The amount of heat necessary to heat up plastic for recycling is dramatically lower than that of glass, making it more sustainable in the long run. Yes, both are 100% recyclable, but the amount of fuel necessary plays a big factor. The temperature needed for melting and processing HDPE is between 248 and 356°F depending on grade. Whereas glass materials requires a minimum temperature of 2,600°F, according to SeattlePI. As you can see, these temperatures are very different, and shows why the life cycle of plastic is more eco-friendly and a better option to preserve our environment.
Immensely versatile HDPE applications
HDPE has many more uses, like in structural tanks, FDA approved cutting boards and industrial piping systems. This material outweighs most alternatives in benefits due to it’s cost and performance, and is produced in sheet and rod by many major manufacturers in the USA. HDPE plastics are FDA and NSF approved for food applications, making HDPE a food safe product for most food processing and packing applications. For more details on HDPE and it’s benefits see Industrial Plastic Supply or call 866-832-9315
What other applications could benefit from newer and improved materials to make our world safer, cleaner and more efficient?
The quick answer is: the opposite of single use plastic.
Performance plastics are a wide range of materials that are designed for use in mechanical, engineering, aerospace, food processing, and many other applications. These performance plastic materials generally have superior physical properties, and frequently are used to replace other materials like metals, wood and glass.
Most performance plastic sheets and rods are machinable, and can be used to replace other substrates that can not stand up to the same demanding applications that these performance plastics can. Performance plastics are the natural choice when considering replacement for traditional materials, such as bronze, stainless steel, glass, wood and copper, for not just one reason but rather a combination of features and benefits.
Nearly all Performance Plastic grades can be recycled.
Because of their cost-effectiveness as well as their reliability, durability, and special characteristics like resistance to chemicals and corrosion the high performance plastic materials are steadily replacing metals in the oil and gas industry. The constant development of new and better high performance plastics is therefore closely linked to the development and economic production of the range of available performance plastic materials. High performance plastics can be divided in amorphous and semi-crystalline polymers, just like all polymers.
Performance Plastics properties
Single Use Plastic properties
Long life – up to 50 years of service
Very short, often instant throw away
Wear Resistance
Very cheap
Self Lubricating
Little to no physical properties
High Heat Resistance
Very low melting point
Machinable
Very light weight
Can be Very UV Resistant
Deteriorates quickly
Very Long Life
Extremely short life
Tough and Durable
Considered disposable
Very High Impact Strength
Flimsy, low value
Why use a Performance Plastic?
Performance plastics are designed for repeated or multi-use applications and generate a smaller carbon footprint than glass, steel, or wood. High performance plastics are plastics that can perform well under extreme environments. Because most performance plastics are considered ‘self lubricating’, these materials can be made into parts that replace metals, and don’t require the continual maintenance and lubrication that metals require.
Over the past few decades Mechanical Plastics have increasingly replaced metals due to their strength-to-weight ratios, and resistance to wear have surpassed aluminum and steel, respectively. When certain additives are blended with thermoplastic polymers, this performance plastic can meet code and compliance requirements for smoke, flammability, and even toxic gas release. Several high end performance plastics can meet the stringent FM-4910 flame and smoke rating.
Performance Plastic materials are not ‘cheap’
As opposed to ‘single use’ plastics, the performance plastic materials are not inexpensive or ‘throw away’. Rather these high performance materials are designed for specific applications, and out perform most other substrates. Other characteristics of high performance plastics can be extraordinary resistance to wear and tear, high purity or particular electrical insulation. High performance plastics are plastics that can perform well under extreme circumstances. High performance plastics are best known for their temperature, chemical and wear resistance.
Performance Plastics offers high performance plastics for high performance applications, at economical prices, made by quality American made engineering plastics manufacturers. High-performance plastics are formulated to operate under extreme chemical, high temperature and heavy load applications or any combination of these. Most performance plastics are used where the highest demands are placed on thermal or chemical resistance, product mechanics, or on the self-lubrication of products. Several of our key North American suppliers are: Ensinger Plastics, Rochling Plastics, Z/L Engineering Plastics, Simona-America, Plaskolite, and many more.
In the performance plastic market, one size does not fit all. With over 50 high performance plastics, each with its own physical properties, several materials may be proper choices for your performance plastic requirement. Please feel free to call one of our certified and trained customer service personnel for assistance in choosing the best performance plastic for your application.
There are several manufactures of Gray PVC Sheet in North America. One of the best knows name for over 60 years has been Boltaron®. They have produced a high quality PVC sheet that is well know and respected. In 2004, Boltaron® acquired the assets of Empire Plastics, an Ohio based PVC Sheet producer, adding to Boltaron® overall production capacity. This acquisition was designed to also add to their already robust product line. In early 2014, Simona® America Group (also known at Simona AG) acquired all of Boltaron® Performance Products, and Simona® also acquired Laminations, Inc. of Hazleton, PA.
Simona® America is a leading producer of a wide variety of Performance Plastics including: PVC Sheet, HDPE Sheet, Polypropylene Sheet and Kynar® PVDF Sheets. The purchase of Boltaron® Plastics boosted the width and breadth of the product lines already supplied by Simona® America. With the addition of Laminations Inc., Simona® America added an industry leader in high tech plastics that meet the FM-4910 fire ratings, including: PVC, Polypropylene and Kynar® PVDF sheet materials.
For the last 3 years, Simona® America has been actively combining the product lines that Simona produced along with Boltaron® and Laminations® production, and trimming duplicate productions. A concerted effort was made to harmonize the materials, so all materials would be from the same resins and will look and perform in a similar fashion, and as a result will optimize manufacturing efficiencies.
Just A New Name For PVC Sheets
Simona® America has now announced that the Boltaron® 1050E Type 1 PVC Sheet will now be called Simona® PVC Type 1 Sheet effective January 1, 2018.
This is just a name change and the PVC sheet will continue to be the same great product as before. There is no difference between the two materials, the name change only reflects the transition from the 2 manufacturing companies to the combined manufacturing capacity of Boltaron® and Simona® Type 1 Gray PVC Sheet and Sheeting. Type 1 PVC Sheet continues to offer one of the lowest priced materials that meets the difficult UL 94 V-0 fire rating.
There will be no change to quality or lead times, and the PVC Type 1 sheet will still be available from .060” – 4.0” thickness. One key to the Simona acquisition is that Boltaron® Performance Products has been the only North American company to produce products using extrusion, calendaring and press lamination all under one roof. Boltaron® can produce the widest thickness range of standard and specialty PVC plastic sheeting in the industry, from .003” to 4.0” thickness. They also possess the capacity to produce sheets of multi-layer composites, which can provide a broad range of physical properties.
Due to the wide range of products that Boltaron® has the capacity to produce; Simona® can now add to their offerings these additional products. The Boltaron® plant has extreme proficiency in producing PVC Sheet as well as PVC Alloys and Composites. These materials generally carry very high flame resistant ratings, and some of Boltaron® materials carry the highest ratings available from UL. Some of the most common PVC materials are the Type 1 Gray PVC Sheet, Type 2 PVC Sheet, Clear PVC Sheets, and CPVC Sheet materials. Much like a standard sheet of plywood, PVC sheet materials are normally produced in 48” X 96” sheets.
During the last year, the number and size of food recalls has been staggering. With several major food processors, specifically in the poultry market, recalling massive amounts of product due to contamination, perhaps a change in material is in order, simply changing to a Metal or X-ray detectable plastic material may end recalls for contamination. The cost to change to a metal detectable plastic or x-ray detectable plastic is extremely small in comparison to the cost of these recalls.
What is a detectable Plastic
There are numerous quality high performance plastic materials that are available in Blue, X-ray and Metal detectable versions. These materials are designed with food safety in mind. These materials can assist the food industry and the food processing supply chain in keeping our foods safe. Identifying contaminates in the processing of foods can be made significantly easier with these detectable materials. Food safety should be the priority within the food processing industry. By changing to metal detectable plastic and X-ray detectable plastics, this can become a reality.
Metal Detectable Plastic and X-Ray Detectable Plastics
Here is a recent Press Release detailing the recalls and a rather straight forward and easy solution using detectable plastic.
(Newswire.net — October 10, 2016) Anaheim, CA – Can ‘Blue’ fix food recalls? –The year 2016 has seen some staggering food recalls by large food processors. Massive recalls of chicken specifically seem to have happened multiple times. The part that is the most amazing is that the root cause of many of these kinds of recalls is preventable. The specific recalls listed below are all for possible plastic contamination in the food product.
These large food processors should be aware of some simple steps that can totally eliminate these kinds of contaminates from getting into their food products.
Penny Wise, Pound Foolish
Keeping Food Processing Safe
While using FDA approved plastic materials for conveyor parts and moving components is a standard practice in most food processing plants, many processors use the cheapest available approved materials. This means that many producers are using a natural (white) HDPE, Acetal or other white approved plastic material. While it is safe to use these plastics, occasionally one of these parts gets jammed, breaks or wears to the point where parts can crack and pieces can get into the food processing line.
It Is Plain To See
The first easy step would be to use the same quality FDA approved material, but to buy the Blue metal detectable plastic version of the same approved material. This minor color change in the material makes any contaminates very easy to see with the naked eye. Since there are no food products in these bright blue colors, as long as there are employees looking at the food line, these broken pieces are easy to detect.
I Can See You
Speaking of detect, the big step up for detection of contaminates is to use a FDA approved plastic that is detectable by the X-ray or metal detection equipment already installed in these food processing lines. While these ‘metal detectable plastics’ cost more, they certainly cost less than one recent 4.5 million pound poultry recall.
The goal here is not to point the finger or call any company a ‘bad processor’, but rather to encourage these great food processors to use the ‘best practice’ types of materials to eliminate these monster food recalls.
In September 2016, Tyson Foods recalled 130,000 pounds of chicken nuggets for foreign materials in the product.
“According to Tyson Foods, the plastic material ranged in size from 21mm in length and 6.5mm in diameter and may have come from a round, hard plastic rod used to connect a plastic transfer belt. The firm said the products pass through a metal detector, but the plastic is not detectable to this technology,” the USDA recall announcement said.
Have You Considered Detectable Blue?
Blue Metal Detectable Plastics From Ensinger
Perhaps they could consider using a metal detectable plastic that is detectable by a standard metal detector. Industrial Plastic Supply has supplied this FDA approved Metal Detectable UHMW rod since early 2010. Currently, there are several FDA approved materials that are available in Blue; UHMW, Acetal, Nylon, Polyester and now PEEK. Some of these materials are also available in a ‘triple detection’ version, where it is detectable because of the vivid Blue color, and it is also Metal detectable and X-Ray detectable. One of these new versions is the Ultra-Detectable Polyester rod made by Ensinger® Plastics called Hydex® 4101 UD Blue (FDA Grade Polyester).
–In April and May of 2016, Pilgrim’s Pride had a recall totaling 5,550,904 pounds (yes 5.5 million pounds) of poultry do to possible foreign matter contamination.
The cost is staggering. To recall this quantity of food takes a small army of people to identify the possibly contaminated batches of food. Then notification is spread to all the possible distribution and wholesalers. The USDA is normally notified as one more step to notify the public.
Simple method to protect the safety of our food chain using detectable plastic materials
What is the cost to change to a more metal detectable plastic?
This depends on the type of plastic, and the detection method.
Let’s assume that the currently used material is an FDA approved grade of 1″ diameter Natural Acetal rod (a popular performance plastic used in food processing). And let’s assume this material would sell for approximately $2.00 – $2.50 per linear foot.
Changing to a Bright Blue FDA approved grade of Acetal Rod would cost about $3.50 – $4.00 per foot.
Upgrading to a Metal and X-ray detectable plastic that is FDA grade and Blue Acetal plastic rod would cost in the range of $8.25 – $9.00 per foot.
A recall of 100,000 pounds of poultry is, of course, significantly more expensive than upgrading the plastic materials in the food processing plant. Consider the upgrade an inexpensive insurance policy against these kinds of monster recalls, with a simple change to metal detectable plastic materials.
Metal Detectable Plastic and X-Ray Detectable Plastics Actually Saves Money
Contact us for more information on these Metal Detectable Plastic and X-Ray detectable plastic products. Blue Sheet and Rod are available in Acetal, Delrin®, Nylon, PBT – Polyester, and more. The special ‘triple detectable’ grades are currently produced in Acetal (Tecaform® UD Blue) and PBT – Polyester (Hydex® 4101 UD Blue). More materials are in final stages of development. Contact us for your special requirements.
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