Robot plexiglass/plastic

[Andy Baker]

Originally Posted by Burt65

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Anyone using acrylic or plexiglas on a FIRST Robotics Competition robot is just asking for trouble, as it shatters. MANY people refer to the clear plastic (polycarbonate) used on these robots as plexiglas, which is incorrect, as stated many times in this thread.

Here is a very simple way to tell the difference between two pieces of clear plastic, of which one is acrylic and the other is polycarbonate: look at the outside edge of the plastic sheet. If the outside edge has a blue tint, then it is polycarbonate. If this same edge is white or frosty-clear, then it is acrylic.

Then, put the acrylic back up on the shelf (or throw it away*) and next take the polycarbonate in your arms and give it a big hug.

Here is a pretty good discussion we had about this same topic a few years ago.

Sincerely,
Andy Baker

* I'm actually serious about this. There is no need to have any trace of sheet acrylic in a robot-building shop. If you just put it back up on the shelf, you might as well write on it with a sharpie marker "Don't use this acrylic stuff - it shatters!!!"