Polycarbonate vs. Acrylic

[Bonedog]

I often see threads that talk about using acrylic for various tops or cages and I wanted to share some info. Acrylic splits, cracks and breaks when being worked with. It also warps and yellows with age. Polycarbonate is stronger and machines (drills or cuts) better. 1/8" polycarbonate will take hard strike with no problem where as acrylic will break. Poly is more expensive but worth it in the long run. Stop buying acrylic! It is a good product in the right circumstances but not in Tarantula enclosures.

 

[gvfarns]

I don't think that's the consensus on the subject. A search of google will reveal that.

Polycarbonate is less brittle because it's softer, which means it scratches more easily. People who work with both say it's a pain to work with polycarbonate by comparison. I've never worked with polycarbonate so I can't comment direclty, but I have worked with acrylic and it's not bad.

Polycarbonate certainly is remarkably more resilient to breakage, but acrylic is miles beyond one of the next leading competitors: glass. Acrylic is pretty good for all but the most rugged uses.

I believe what you are saying about it yellowing with age is also incorrect, but I haven't had mine long enough to say for certain.

And I think one of the consequences of polycarbonate's softness is that it has a greater tendency to bow over time. Acrylic is pretty annoying in that respect, so I wouldn't want to get any worse.

 

[testdasi]

Is polycarbonate plastic?

 

[gvfarns]

Polycarbonate and acrylic are thermoplastics, yes. Polycarbonate is what they use in eye glasses because it's kind of unbreakable. Acrylic is used in a lot of displays and industrial windows and things.

The cages at tarantulacages.com are made of acrylic, for example.

They kind of look the same. They are very clear (especially acrylic) and pretty strong.

 

[Moltar]

Don't you mean that plexiglass becomes brittle and yellows with age? I've never seen this problem with acrylic.

 

[gvfarns]

Don't you mean that plexiglass becomes brittle and yellows with age? I've never seen this problem with acrylic.

Plexiglass and acrylic are the same thing.

I think yellowing may be something that old formulas for acrylic used to do, or maybe something associated with some chemical they are exposed to. I have never seen it in my own enclosures at all. Though I do find a little bit of bowing over time in the acrylic that makes up the lid. That's the big problem with acrylic in my mind, besides the cost.

 

[gvfarns]

FYI regarding yellowing.

http://www.ridoutplastics.com/faq.html#sun

 

[gvfarns]

Apparently it is polycarbonate that yellows in the sun, while acrylic does not. Polycarbonate formuas that do not yellow contain a UV inhibitor to protect them. I'm not sure how common that is, actually. it may be pervasive so that it's not an issue at al.

 

[Moltar]

Plexiglass and acrylic are the same thing.

Well that clears up one question...

 

[spiderhawk]

I have used acrylic cages, and while they are great for some species, I didn't like them for the T's that I like to collect and the substrate that I use. Most of my T's prefer a drier substrate, and I use a peat/coco fiber mix. When dry, my substrate is very light and I have a hard time keeping off of the sides of the acrylic enclosures, due to static electricity.

I love the looks of the acrylic enclosures, I just wish I could figure out a way to avoid the static and keep the strate off the sides! :?

 

[MVDaniel]

I've worked with both, and one big difference is that the poly doesn't have the tendency to warp that plexi does when being used in humid environs.

You should be able to ground out any static from an acrylic surface easy enough, it's caused by friction and motion within the enclosure. Ground it once and it should be fine, until your next major cleaning.

 

[spiderhawk]

I've worked with both, and one big difference is that the poly doesn't have the tendency to warp that plexi does when being used in humid environs.

You should be able to ground out any static from an acrylic surface easy enough, it's caused by friction and motion within the enclosure. Ground it once and it should be fine, until your next major cleaning.

Sounds interesting and worth trying. So, how do I ground it?