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Acrylic
Fabrication
Point-of-sale
units produced from acrylic sheet project a very clean, high
quality image. Whilst the nature of the material does restrict
the design of point-of-sale units somewhat, many applications
are ideally suited to the sharp, clean image of acrylic. Acrylic
is available in clear as well as any specific colour required
- although there are minimum quantities required to produce
specific colours.
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Step
1
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Sheets
of acrylic are usually laser-cut into panels of the precise
shape required prior to having their protective paper
or plastic coating removed. In some cases the protective
coating is left in place to further protect the unit during
manufacture and transport to the customer. The panels
are then placed on a bender which heats a narrow strip
of the sheet at the point where the bend is required,
whilst cooling the surrounding material with chilled water
pumped through cooling rails either side of the heated
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Step
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Step
2
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Once
the panel has heated sufficiently to be pliable in the
area of the bend, it is removed from the bender and
placed in a jig which holds the panel in the required
shape while it cools and again becomes rigid. Often
a panel will be bent several times in different directions
to achieve the desired result.
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Step
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Step
3
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Joining
of panels is usually achieved by using a fast drying
solvent adhesive which holds the two panels together
by slightly dissolving both pieces of acrylic in the
area of the join. Some panels are also joined using
bolts or other fasteners.
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Step
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