- Engineering note
Caring for Acrylic: Why Glass Cleaner Cracks It
How solvent cleaning turns into haze and fine internal cracks in acrylic displays, and the wiping, fixing and placement habits that keep them clear for years.
- Dry dust
- blast or brush off first, then dry-wipe with microfibre only
- Fingerprints
- diluted dish soap and water, soft cloth
- Oil marks
- same solution, several passes, no pressure
- Engineering note
Cutting and Drilling Acrylic: Three Ways Shops Lose
From saw to drill press — chipping, laser dross and stress cracking are the three classic acrylic fabrication failures, each with cause, prevention and cure.
- Saw chipping
- dull blade / fast feed / loose hold-down — check the clamp before the blade
- Laser dross
- speed too slow or power excess — a scrap test coupon is always cheaper than a good sheet
- Drill whitening
- rpm too high melts the rim — low speed, sharp bit, no hesitation against the sheet
- Engineering note
Shipping Acrylic: Film, Separation, First Five Minutes
What the protective film actually protects, why sheets must never touch each other, and the receiving check that keeps a damage claim alive.
- Crushed corners or punctures in the outer carton
- marks of what struck this carton
- Deep scratches under the film
- angle a light across before peeling anything
- White scuffed corners
- evidence interleaf padding was skipped
- Engineering note
How to Choose Acrylic Sheet Thickness
Thickness works as stiffness steps, not a price ladder. Nominal versus actual sheet size, span and load, and the two numbers to fix before ordering.
- Lids, small cases, protective plates
- 2–3 mm
- Dividers, trays, small parts displays
- 3–4 mm
- Display stands and box fixtures
- 4–5 mm
- Engineering note
Acrylic or Glass for Displays: Where the Choice Splits
Comparing acrylic and glass display on clarity, weight, hazard and scratch — and the difference that actually decides: how each ages.
- Seismic or tip-over risk display
- acrylic by a distance — the failure mode differs too much
- High-heat lighting on close range
- glass does not creep toward the softening point; keep the distance honest
- Handled and touched every day
- acrylic can be polished back; glass re-polish costs approach new
- Engineering note
Lighting Acrylic Displays: Why LED Is the Only Real Choice
Heat warps acrylic, colour decides whether the product reads true, and edge-lighting needs the drawing first. What to settle before ordering.
- Jewellery, metals, white goods
- cooler white for crisp edges
- Food, cosmetics, warm-toned goods
- warmer white to settle the colours
- Whole-shelf wash
- diffused bars split bay by bay
- Engineering note
Outdoor Acrylic: UV, Yellowing and the 10-Year Question
What sunlight actually does to display acrylic, why cast and extruded differ outdoors, and which failures show up in year one instead of year ten.
- Optical clarity under sun
- survives; PMMA resists UV yellowing better than polycarbonate or PET-G
- Surface hardness outdoors
- unchanged by UV, unchanged by rain — dust and wiping still scratch it
- Bonded corners under sun
- the likely first failure: solvent welds and some adhesives age before the sheet does