PLEXIGLAS® is not the same as “plexiglass”

The brand as a guarantor of quality

As early as 1932, Röhm & Haas produced the first cast sheet made of polymethyl methacrylate, or PMMA for short, and from 1933 on a stable, transparent and impact-resistant polymer which was registered under the brand name PLEXIGLAS®. At that time PLEXIGLAS® was dominant in the market and soon became widely recognised.

The brand was so successful that the term “Plexiglas” became part of common language, in a similar way to other brands like Hoover®, Pritt Stick® and Sellotape®. And although there are numerous providers of acrylic glass products today, only the original by Röhm can be called PLEXIGLAS®. This is a high-quality brand product with specific properties which offers customised solutions for many different industries.

Durable material

As a brand, PLEXIGLAS® represents the quality of products which are subjected to particularly high requirements. The brand acrylic glass is one of the highest quality and most adaptable acrylic glasses in the world. One of its defining quality features is its transparency of over 90 percent (colorless material). This means PLEXIGLAS® lets light pass through, while simultaneously providing protection from the harmful effects of UV radiation. The most effective UV protection is namely not a material which is applied as a layer, a common practice in the market, but is inherent to the material itself. Specialists in the field describe this as a “naturally UV-stable technology”.

This means that PLEXIGLAS® consists entirely of extremely strong and UV-stable molecules. So both the surface and the entire material is protected against the harmful effects of UV rays. The brand acrylic glass therefore guarantees that colorless original PLEXIGLAS® sheets and pipes will not yellow for 30 years and will maintain their transparency.

Cast or extruded semi-finished goods and granulates

Transparency and UV protection are only two of the excellent properties inherent to PLEXIGLAS®. Over the years, the product portfolio has been continuously expanded and diversified. Today, the PLEXIGLAS® brand offers both cast and extruded solid sheets, as well as pipes, rods and films.

During the manufacturing process of cast PLEXIGLAS®, liquid methyl methacrylate (MMA) is poured between two glass sheets. Under the influence of heat, the liquid MMA then polymerizes, which means it hardens. Extruded PLEXIGLAS® XT is produced from polymerized methyl methacrylate granulate, which is manufactured by the same company and sold under the same brand name. This product is melted in an extruder and can then be extruded into different shapes, such as solid or multi-skin sheets, rods or pipes.

The PLEXIGLAS® granulate is not only ideal for extrusion, however. The different products from the PLEXIGLAS® molding compounds portfolio all possess different physical properties, such as flow plasticity or heat deflection temperature and can be processed using all common thermoplastic procedures, including procedures such as injection molding.