cuting plexi

[IndySam]

Originally Posted by Mike Betts

Although it has been hinted at in this thread, I wanted to be sure that you knew that Plexiglas is different than polycarbonate.

I know that the difference may appear to be semantic to us electrical types but it is important. If you hit Plexiglass with a hammer it will violently shatter whereas polycarbonate is so resilient that it is used in most saftey glasses you and your team wear in the pits...

The impact resistance of polycarbonate extends to tooling as well. Polycarbonate can be cut in a sheet metal shear, bent on a brake and drilled or machined easily. Plexiglas is not nearly as machinable.

My team always uses polycarbonate on our robots and we never use Plexiglass. This not only gives us a more robust robot but also increases the safety margin for the students working on the robot.

JMHO

Mike

Mike I totally agree. I would never use plexiglas anywhere in my robot. I can get all I want for free but we still chose to purchase polycarbonate instead.

My company sells supplies for sign making. The reason I can get plexi free is because it is easily damaged in shipping and we always have the damaged pieces saved in our damaged goods rack. You won't find any polycarbonate in that rack.