Hi everybody! Hopefully this is the right place to ask my question. I've been looking for flexible plexiglass for one year now without success. I can get flexible coated vynil sheeting but I've been told by a distributor that it would not be UV resistant. The thickest vynil I found is 4 mil, which would be too thin anyway. I live in western NY where summers are hot and winters, cold. The product is to use to build 2 sides of bird feeders. It has to be flexible because it would be inserted in grooves following a curve, something like a S shape. I read here somewhere that I can shape plexi with heat but it would make the shape permanent. The sides have to be removable for cleaning purposes without having to disassemble the feeder. Thanks for your help.
What radius are you wanting it to bend to? You can get UV-resistant clear polycarbonate sheet in 1mm (25 mil if by 'mil' you mean thousandths of an inch) but the minimum cold bend radius should be over 200mm (8") or it will take a permanent set.
So I guess you want it to be transparent? Low density polyethelene would probably work here, but it's not transparent. -and it's brittle in cold temps... -and those fuzzy-tailed rats can chew through it... Forget I said anything.
"What radius are you wanting it to bend to? You can get UV-resistant clear polycarbonate sheet in 1mm (25 mil if by 'mil' you mean thousandths of an inch) but the minimum cold bend radius should be over 200mm (8") or it will take a permanent set." cpemma, Thanks for your reply. The link you provided is a little far from home... but I googled using your description above and frankly, it's a little discouraging. When it's sold in rolls, it's not rigid enough and sheeting is too rigid. I am waiting for a reply from a place in South Carolina that sells Polyethylene. I need a sample. I have to see before I purchase 100' of it. Unfortunately, they don't specify if it's UV resistant or anything like that.
Is this what your looking for? true vinyl is UV tolerant... http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/pr...e=USPlastic&category_name=67&product_id=20684 I have also worked with 1/16 and 1/32 Lexan.... very flexible! it is available down to .015" http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php?pid=333& hope this helps hagatha
Look for a material called PETg. U can cold bend it and it's relatively resistant. It's the clear material used in motorcicle helmets to protect your face. I don't know the name of it in english....
You might look at McMaster-Carr for 1/16" or 1/32" extruded acrylic sheets. They're in Chicago, so shipping shouldn't be too terrifying, and I've bought from them dozens of times with no problems. Unfortunately, due to the design of their website, I can't link directly to suitable products. But if you go to the site (mcmaster.com) and search for item number 8589K11, you'll find a variety of sizes of 1/16" acrylic.
Everybody, I can't thank you enough. I've had more help here in one day than in a year with manufacturers and distributors. Hagatha, I visited those 2 websites, and wrote about my application. Their answers were negative. At USP, the Clear Rigid Vinyl Sheet is really flexible? Because it says "rigid" I didn't think it would bend at all. As far as Tap Plastic, I contacted them months ago about their Lexan. They replied that it would not withstand sun. Yesterday I wrote regarding their calendared vinyl roll. Again, negative answer. They could have suggested Polycarbonate. I believe you if you say it's very flexible. That's great! Carsybob, I checked McMaster-Carr out. Another one I contacted months ago. Extruded Acrylic looks like it's another one that could work. Yemerich, Petg is the most expensive of all. I don't think it would work because of it's stiffness. It has to be thermoformed, pressure-formed, or heat bent. I don't think it would be removable without disassembling the feeder. I will order samples from everywhere and see. Thank you all so much again.
Hmmm i used PETg sometimes, and it doesn't need to be thermoformed.. You can bend it by hand, in other words "cold bend" it... And it's a little more expensive than acryl. At least where i bought mine... Anyway Please post here all of your progress in the matter. I think this post will be very usefull in the future for many people
samwise, Unless their Lexan is not polycarbonate... all lexan is UV tolerant. I work with Lexan on a daily basis.. We use it to modify vehicles and enclosures (military applications) to with stand blasts and projectiles... We have had pieces out in the yard for months and are still clear and flexible (not brittle). If you get a polycarbonate sheet that is .020" - .030" it will flex no problem and stay flexible. Lets compare the .020" product to about 7-8 sheets of 24lb printer paper. I really think this is worth a closer look. TAP plastics offers samples... hagatha
Polycarbonate is the way to go and damn near bullet proof. Well at 1.25" thickness it really is, the plastics place I go to has a ballistics test sample on display. FWIW, "Lexan" is a brandname which is polycarbonate. Kinda like Ski-doo and snowmobile.
I just received my Lexan from USP. It's .060 clear. It really is flexible but I'm not sure if it's flexible enough to follow a "S" shape though. Maybe it's a little too thick. I wish I knew what "radius" mean. If it's the distance from the bottom and top of the "curve" then it's no more than 1-1/2". Is there a good and a bad "side" for bending? The cheapest place I found for .030 is Ridout Plastics. Still the shipping is a killer. I'll tell you how it went.
Close. Imagine you carried the curve until it was a full circle. The radius is the distance from the plastic (in this case) to the centre point of the circle.
I received my 030" X 24" X 48" Clear Lexan Makrolon Polycarbonate Sheet today. This stuff is so flexible that they ship it rolled! I am so happy. I think I even can cut it with shears. It can't get better than that. Thank you all again so much for your help.
I wouldn't recommend it; can easily result in cracking. It's better to use a jigsaw with a high TPI metal blade
