Clear Acrylic Rod and Tube
Extruded clear acrylic profiles with good clarity that glue and machine well, used across displays, furniture, lighting and fabrication.
About Acrylic Rod & Tube
Acrylic rod and tube are manufactured using the extrusion process. They have good clarity and can be glued and machined for use in various types of displays and applications.
Rod is a solid bar available from 3 mm up to 100 mm diameter, with selected colours in some sizes. Tube is hollow, available from 10 mm to 200 mm outside diameter in a range of wall thicknesses, in both clear and opal. Rod also has useful light piping properties, so light introduced at one end travels the length of the bar and makes the ends glow.
We cut rod and tube to length, polish the ends, drill, tap and heat bend to your requirements. Ask us for sizing advice and a quote.
Key Properties
- Material
- Clear acrylic (PMMA), extruded
- Solid rod diameters
- 3 mm to 100 mm, selected colours in some sizes
- Hollow tube diameters
- 10 mm to 200 mm outside diameter, various wall thicknesses
- Finishes
- Clear and opal (frosted) in tube
- Supply
- Cut to length, ends polished on request
What makes Acrylic Rod & Tube useful
Good optical clarity in a round profile
Rod pipes light along its length, so ends glow when lit
Cuts, drills, taps, turns and polishes cleanly
Weather resistant and UV stable for outdoor use
Roughly half the weight of a glass equivalent
Common uses for Acrylic Rod & Tube
Display stand supports, legs and risers
Table legs, towel rails and curtain rods
Balustrade infill and handrail components
LED light guides and edge lit features
Laboratory columns and flow visualisation
Protective covers for tubes and instruments
The honest picture
Every material has trade offs. Here is where Acrylic Rod & Tube shines and where it falls short.
Pros
Cut to any length you need, so there is no waste
Ends can be polished to optical clarity for lighting and display work
Same weather resistance and UV stability as acrylic sheet
Bonds to flat sheet with solvent cement for fabricated assemblies
Limitations
Extruded profiles are not as hard wearing as cast acrylic sheet
Scratches more easily than glass
Heavy load applications need the right diameter and wall thickness, so check with us first
Acrylic Rod & Tube versus the alternatives
Acrylic sheet
Same base polymer and the same clarity, weather resistance and fabrication behaviour, just supplied as a round profile rather than a flat panel.
Glass tube
Acrylic profiles weigh about half as much as glass and offer better impact resistance, but glass has the harder surface.
How we work with Acrylic Rod & Tube
The fabrication methods best suited to Acrylic Rod & Tube, and what we do with them in our Moonah workshop.
Acrylic Rod & Tube FAQs
Need Acrylic Rod & Tube for Your Project?
Talk to our team about how we can cut, fabricate or repair Acrylic Rod & Tube for you. Free quotes, expert advice and Australia wide delivery from our Moonah workshop.