FAQ
Acrylic Fabrication FAQ
Real questions from engineers, buyers and designers — answered by our fabrication team. Can’t find yours? [email protected] answers within 12 hours.
Materials
What's the difference between cast and extruded acrylic?
Cast acrylic is polymerized in a mold: better for machining, bonding and thick sections, with superior chemical resistance. Extruded is continuously produced: cheaper, tighter thickness tolerance, ideal for flat laser-cut work. For machined parts we default to cast.
Acrylic vs polycarbonate — which should I use?
Acrylic for clarity, scratch resistance and cost; polycarbonate for extreme impact strength (~30× acrylic). Guards in strike zones → PC; enclosures, covers, panels, displays → acrylic.
What thicknesses do you work with?
3–100 mm. Below 3 mm suits laser-cut flat parts; machined functional parts typically start at 3 mm; blocks over 30 mm are machined from cast slab.
Is acrylic UV-stable outdoors?
Yes — cast acrylic holds clarity outdoors 10+ years without yellowing. Fixing details and thermal expansion (~0.07 mm/m/°C) still need design attention.
What chemicals attack acrylic?
Alcohols, acetone, aromatic solvents and some cleaners cause crazing, especially on stressed parts. Aqueous solutions and dilute acids/alkalis are generally fine. Tell us the chemical environment and we’ll confirm compatibility.
Do you supply anti-static (ESD) acrylic?
Yes — ESD grades with 10⁶–10⁸ Ω surface resistance for electronics environments.
Is acrylic UL 94 rated? What’s its flammability class?
Standard cast acrylic is rated UL 94 HB — it burns slowly rather than self-extinguishing. If your spec calls for V-2 or V-0 (common inside enclosed electrical equipment), acrylic is the wrong material and we’ll say so — see acrylic vs polycarbonate for the alternative.
Is acrylic safe for food-contact applications?
Food-contact-compliant cast acrylic grades are available (FDA 21 CFR 177.1010 / EU 10/2011). Flag food contact in your RFQ — we source certified sheet for that order and ship it with the supplier’s food-contact declaration. Standard display and guard grades are not automatically certified.
Can you color-match acrylic to a Pantone code?
Yes. Send the Pantone reference or a physical chip. We match from stock tinted-sheet ranges first (fastest); custom tinting is possible on volume orders. You approve a physical sample chip before production — screen colors are not reliable for approval.
Fabrication & tolerances
What tolerances can you hold?
CNC machining ±0.1 mm standard / ±0.05 mm critical; laser cutting ±0.2 mm; formed parts ±0.5 mm on formed dimensions. Tolerance costs money — tolerance only what the function needs.
Why do acrylic parts craze after delivery from some suppliers?
Residual stress from machining or flame polishing, released later by solvents or load. Prevention is annealing — a controlled thermal cycle we run as standard on machined parts.
Can you polish edges to full transparency?
Yes — diamond polishing gives optically flat clear edges; flame polishing gives high gloss economically.
How invisible are bonded seams really?
Capillary solvent welds read as a faint line at some angles; polymerizable cement joints polished after cure are effectively invisible. We ship a bonded sample corner on request.
What's the minimum bend radius?
Cold bending ≈ 300 × thickness; heated line bends 2–3 × thickness; thermoforming tighter over molds.
Largest single piece you can make?
3000 × 2000 mm machined and polished as one panel; bigger goes as engineered jointed systems.
Can you print or engrave logos on acrylic parts?
Yes — laser engraving (permanent, no ink), silk-screen printing (solid spot colors, economical at 100+ pcs) and UV printing (full color, no plate cost, better for small batches). Vector artwork (AI/PDF/EPS) gives the cleanest result.
Ordering from us
What's your MOQ?
Production MOQ is 20 pieces per design or specification. Pre-production samples and one-off prototypes are quoted separately.
How fast is a quote? A sample? Production?
Quote within 12 hours. Sample 48 hours. Production 7 days plus freight.
What files do you accept?
STEP, IGES, DWG, DXF, PDF — or a dimensioned sketch / sample part we reverse-engineer into a drawing for your approval.
Are you a real factory? Can we audit?
Yes — Suzhou Hongyee New Material Co., Ltd., 15,000 m² in Suzhou since 2014, ISO 9001. Video walkthroughs and on-site audits welcome.
Payment terms?
30% T/T deposit, balance before shipment; PayPal for samples. FOB, CIF and DDP available.
Will you keep my design confidential?
Yes — NDA on request, drawings used only for quoting/production, no customer parts shown without written permission.
How does unit price change with quantity?
Setup — programming, fixtures, print plates — is spread across the run, so unit cost drops steeply from prototype to small batch and keeps falling toward volume. Quote the quantities you actually expect (e.g. 25 / 100 / 500) and we price each tier so you can see the curve.
I only have a sketch or photo — can you produce the drawings?
Yes. Send a dimensioned sketch, a photo of an existing part, or a rough 3D model; our engineers produce the production drawing for your written approval before anything is cut. Free as part of quoting — see how to order.
Can I appoint a third-party inspection company (SGS, TÜV, QIMA)?
Welcome. Pre-shipment inspection at our Suzhou factory is supported and scheduled into the lead time — you appoint and brief the inspector; we provide access, drawings and our own QC records.
Shipping
How do you ship acrylic without breakage?
Film-protected parts, foam-lined export crates, panels packed vertical, corners doubled. Pre-shipment photos every order. Confirmed transit damage is remade at our cost.
Do you ship worldwide? Which Incoterms?
Yes — courier, air and sea from Suzhou/Shanghai. Terms: FOB, CIF and DDP.
How is oversized panel freight handled?
Crate dimensions checked against container limits at quoting; where it saves money we propose splitting panels into jointed systems — sometimes 40% less landed cost.
What happens if parts arrive damaged?
Photograph the crate and parts before full unpacking and report within 7 days. Confirmed transit-damaged pieces are remade and reshipped. Crating is engineered for acrylic — film, foam interleaving, braced plywood — so claims are the exception, but the process is defined up front.
Question not here?
Ask an engineer — reply within 12 hours.