Why Acrylic?

Poly(Methyl Methacrylate) (PMMA) is the polymer of methyl methacrylate and is commonly called acrylic glass or simply acrylic. It is the only acceptable polymer for use in the production of windows for man-rated pressure vessels.

Acrylic is the viable alternative to polycarbonate (PC) when tensile strength, flexural strength, transparency, surface finish and UV tolerance are a priority.

PMMA does not contain the potentially harmful bisphenol-A monomer subunits found in polycarbonate.

Mechanical Properties

Applied properly, acrylic can withstand high static and dynamic pressure loadings. Failure modes are benign, typically in the form of cracking & crazing and acrylic will not shatter without warning unlike glass. ASME Safety Standard for Pressure Vessels for Human Occupancy (PVHO-1) states explicitly that “windows shall be fabricated only from cast polymethyl methacrylate plastic (acrylic)”.

Biocompatibility

Blanson manufactures an acrylic grade that is biocompatible and satisfies the requirements of USP Class VI and FDA 21CFR177.1010 for the biopharmaceutical industry. In addition, acrylic is an approved material of contact in ASME BPE (www.asme.org)

Cost Effective

Acrylic tubes are more cost effective than glass in larger sizes. In addition, the use of acrylic in small size biopharmaceutical hardware reduces production scale-up costs and the requirement for lengthy process revalidation.