Why acrylic? Glass is extremely strong but very brittle. Glass is suspect to impact loads and will chip or break. Acrylic can be designed to withstand the worst case impact loading condition, where under such an impact, the acrylic will suffer only cosmetic damage. The acrylic can then be easily restored to an "as new" condition. Minute flaws in glass make it inherently unstable under any loading condition. An engineer can only design glass panels to lower the breakage possibility, never eliminating the breakage possibility all together. Glass upon failure, fails instantaneously and catastrophically. Acrylic is a brittle plastic, but not nearly as brittle as glass and because of this is more tolerant of flaws. Acrylic failure modes are predictable and slow. Being a transparent with a slow failure mode, acrylic has the unique characteristic that one can observe the different stages of failure with the naked eye.

There are those perpetuating the fallacy that in high scratch possibility situations, glass should be favored. It is true that acrylic may scratch more easily than glass, but unlike glass, scratches can be removed from acrylic. Once scratches are removed, with the proper polishing technique, acrylic panels will look as good in year ten as they did on day one. In high scratch situations, glass may not scratch as readily, but inevitably it will scratch and those scratches are permanent.

Acrylic has become over the last 30 years the favored material
of choice for large structural and architectural features where transparency is required. Acrylic is a lightweight, colorless thermoplastic. It is hard, rigid and glassy at room temperature. It is especially noted for being colorless and highly transparent, having excellent weathering characteristics and being easy to maintain. The state of the art monolithic cast technology developed by Reynolds Polymer Technology, Inc. provides the world's largest acrylic panels. The fabrication, forming and bonding techniques available allows the acrylic structures size and shape to be virtually unlimited.

Reynolds Polymer Technology is a leading provider of high quality aquarium glazing systems. For over 20 years, we have been known worldwide as a highly reputable designer, manufacturer and installer of cast acrylic windows for aquarium, zoos and marine parks. Reynolds Polymer Technology's state-of-the-art casting process has revolutionized the aquarium industry. Prior to acrylic technology, glass was the most frequently used material for aquariums. Acrylic, however, offers strength and flexibility for larger viewing panels, a greater variety of shapes, increased clarity, and more integrity and safety. Combined with the engineering, design and installation capabilities of Reynolds Polymer Technology, acrylic is now being used in some of the most creative aquarium, zoo and marine park exhibits across the world.


5m diameter R-Cast (TM) cylinder at Central Airport Plaza
Chiangmai , Thailand