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Free Call - 1800 833 902
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WHICH PLASTIC – ACRYLIC OR POLYCARBONATE?
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As a major plastics supplier in Sydney, we at Pacific West are often asked the same question – which plastic should I use for my application? In this article, we will attempt to answer this question simply for all those who require plastic fabrication.
Both acrylic and polycarbonate are rigid plastic products, and are available in clear plastic sheet, rod and tube form which are transparent and almost glass like in appearance. This is where the similarities end, however, as these plastic products perform very different roles.
Acrylic or ‘perspex’ is the plastic sheet generally used for plastic fabrication, boat windows, display cabinets, raffle barrels, brochure holders, etc. Acrylic has 17 times the impact strength of glass, has a high degree of transparency and can be fabricated, by bending, cutting and moulding, to almost any shape. There are many colours of acrylic on the market, making it a fabulous plastic product to use in signage and perspex displays. Also the good weatherability of acrylic is useful for sign writers. Acrylic will melt at temperatures of 100 degrees Centigrade. This is the plastic to use for your everyday plastic fabrication requirements and all your perspex display cases.
Polycarbonate or ‘lexan’ is the plastic sheet used when safety and security plastics are required. It is renown for its extremely high impact strength – it has 250 times the impact strength of glass and 30 to 40 times that of acrylic. Polycarbonate is virtually unbreakable, light weight, durable, is UV stabilised (has excellent weather resistance) and is thermo formable to almost any shape. Its major uses are safety machine guards, riot shields, safety glazing, windows in race cars, telephone booth panels, etc. This is an extremely strong plastic product and belongs to the engineering plastics group, but it will scratch more than acrylic. There is a mar resistant polycarbonate available, which has the same basic properties as regular polycarbonate, but it has a reduction in abrasion and scratching. Polycarbonate will melt at temperatures of 149 degrees Centigrade.
So, to sum up, acrylic is used for non safety items and all types of displays and show cases. Polycarbonate is used for industrial strength applications where safety is a priority and where very high temperatures are used. Naturally acrylic is cheaper than polycarbonate and regular polycarbonate is cheaper than the mar resistant grade.
Please call us at Pacific West to see if we can help you with your plastic product and perspex display requirements.
Acrylic Polycarbonate
  
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PLASTICS FOR HORSE FLOATS
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Pacific West can supply all your plastic requirements for horse float windows. Whether you need to replace your existing windows, or are building a horse float from scratch, we can supply you with clear and grey tinted plastic sheets.
We recommend polycarbonate for this application, as our polycarbonate sheets are shatterproof, thus making your horse float windows extremely safe, for you and your horses. Polycarbonate is 250 times stronger than glass and much lighter in weight, therefore making it the ideal plastic product for your horse float windows.
Polycarbonate sheets are available in thicknesses of 2mm up to 12mm and in sheet sizes from 2440 x 1220mm and larger. Pacific West can supply you with the whole sheets if required or we also provide a cut to size service. Polycarbonate sheets are available in a general purpose grade and also a UV resistant grade.
Features and Benefits of Polycarbonate:
· Excellent impact resistance
· Self extinguishing
· Very good optical properties
· Moderate chemical and scratch resistance
· Excellent acoustic properties
· Corrosion free
· Rust free
· Maintenance free
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PLASTIC WHEELS AND ROLLERS BY PACIFIC WEST
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Pacific West can machine custom made wheels and rollers to customers individual requirements. We can replace imported components with locally machined plastic materials. Some of the plastic parts that can be machined to order include:
Wheels
Rollers
Bushes
End Caps
The plastic is machined to the highest standard and are made especially for you. Plastics that can be machined into wheels and rollers include:
Polyethylene
Nylon
Teflon
Acetal
As our machined plastic parts are custom made and not just pulled off a shelf, each piece is made to your specifications – size, colour, shape, design, etc. Pacific West work with you right from the first contact up until the finished parts are completed and delivered to you. Pacific West have been in the plastic machining business now for many years and we consider ourselves to be experts in all of areas of plastic supply, machining and plastic fabrication.
 
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ADHESIVE BACKED UHMWPE
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Pacific West are proud to announce that we are now stocking adhesive backed UHMWPE. This ultra high molecular weight polyethylene is designed to be used as continuous wear strip, enabling you to simply purchase the adhesive backed strips as cut to size as opposed to a whole sheet of UHMWPE, which does not have the adhesive backing.
The UHMWPE with pressure sensitive adhesive backing tape will allow you to apply the polyethylene in minutes instead of hours, eliminating the need for mechanical fastening – no more drilling and bolting!
Adhesive backed UHMWPE is available in the following sizes:
Thickness: .003” to .125”
Width: ¼” to 24”
Roll Length: 50 or 100’
Colours: Natural – standard
Conductive black is available
Other colours available on a minimum order basis
Some other advantages of adhesive backed UHMWPE are:
- No more seams
- Tight thickness tolerances
- Elimination of waste
The UHMWPE tapes can also be supplied with an abrasive side using contact cement or epoxies for permanent adhesion. These bonding methods are used where the adhesive demands are greater due to load, substrate, environment or temperature change.
UHMWPE tapes are commonly used for:
- Conveyor side liners
- Low friction surface on packaging equipment
- Bearing surface for telescoping applications
- Smooth continuous surface for paddle conveyors
- Anti-stick surface on bagging lines
- Bearing surface on bakery conveyors
- Hoppers
- Lane diverters in canning lines
- Low coefficient of friction surface under conveyor belts
- Anti-static slide tapes for mail sorting equipment
- Anti-corrosion/anti-squeak material between leaf springs
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Plastics for Soil Testing
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Pacific West produces a range of plastics specifically for soil testing.
There are two types of plastic tube for soil testing - high impact acrylic and polycarbonate. These plastics are the best alternatives for soil testing applications and are Shelby style tubes.
Our high impact acrylic has a broader chemical resistance range than polycarbonate. Our polycarbonate has an even higher impact resistance than high impact acrylic.
Both high impact acrylic and polycarbonate tubes have:
· Clarity
· Toughness
· Chemical resistance
The high impact acrylic is the best tube for extended periods of soil storage due to its clarity and chemical resistance. The polycarbonate tube is UV stable, making it the preferred plastic for situations exposed to the elements. Polycarbonate is generally used when the ore is extremely hard.
These high impact acrylic and polycarbonate tubes can also be used as adhesive cartridges for the roof bolting industry.
The chemical resistance charts for both plastic products are available on request from Pacific West.
Sizes and availability
The two main diameters of both the high impact acrylic and the polycarbonate tubes in stock are:
38.1mm (11/2”)
50.8mm (2”)
63.1mm (2 1/2”) is available on request.
Wall thickness is 2mm minimum.
Custom lengths are available in both high impact acrylic and polycarbonate tube to suit customers requirements.
Minimum order quantity of stock items is 300m.
Smaller quantities may be available for certain applications.
Other sizes may be available depending on quantities ordered.
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ENGINEERING PLASTICS
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Engineering plastics are a group of plastic products that exhibit superior mechanical and thermo properties in a wide range of conditions over and above those of the more commonly used commodity plastics. Engineering thermoplastics are plastics which generally have wax like properties, i.e. they can be melted and shaped several times.
They are referred to as engineering plastics as they replace the more traditionally used engineering materials such as metal and wood.
Engineering plastics are more expensive than other plastic products as they have enhanced physical properties.
Some properties of engineering plastics:
- high impact strength – polycarbonate, nylon, UHMWPE
- high heat resistance – polyester, acetal
- mechanical strength – acetal
- rigidity – acetal
- flame retardancy – polycarbonate
- chemical resistance – PVC
- abrasion resistance - nylon
- quieter operation – polyethylene
- zero moisture absorption – polyethylene
- high stability with machined parts - polyester
- self lubricated - most of the engineering plastics group
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PLASTIC FABRICATIONS FOR CLUBS
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Pacific West can supply your club with all its plastic fabrication requirements
Golf Cart Screens
Perspex Display Cases
Menu Holders
Sneeze Guards
Salad Bar Covers
Bain Marie Covers
and much more....
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Email us for a quote today!
Pacific West Corporation
Unit 3/80 Hassall Street
Wetherill Park NSW 2164
Plastic Products by Pacific West Corporation
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