Where can I find flexible plastic?
Asked by
waffles (
149
)
October 28th, 2011
I need a clear plastic cylinder that has a dimeter of 4ft. I have been looking everywhere for an acrylic cylinder of that size, and I’ve only come across one place, that charges upwards of $13,000! (because they have a minimum of 90” length)
The cylinder only has to be a foot high, so I am thinking of just buying a strip of clear plastic and bending it into a cylinder. Acrylic would be too hard to bend I think, so is there another type of plastic that is strong but flexible?
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7 Answers
You don’t say what you’re going to do with your cylinder but could you use something like this, a plastic chair mat, from an office supply store? The plastic is pretty strong, but still flexible. The one pictured is big enough to give you your 4’ diameter, and it’s quite a bit less than $13,000. If you get the kind for hard wood floors I don’t think the plastic has those little cleats in it like the ones for carpeting. And if you look around you might find one cheaper.
I found dozens of sites by typing “flexible plastic sheets” in my search box and benefited my favorite charity by using Goodsearch.com
Sorry, forgot to mention that this will act as a window for a display. So it would have to be completely transparent, and unfortunately the chair mat isn’t transparent enough.
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O.K. You didn’t say what you were going to use the cylinder for. You might want to look into Lexan sheeting. It’s used as a glass substitute in windows sometimes so it should be clear enough for your purposes and you should be able to find sheets of it at Home Depot or Lowe’s, so it’s convenient. It’s about 2.3mm thick so it should be sturdy enough but still allow you to shape into a cylinder and is 72 in. x 36 in for $100. Maybe that would work.
You might try looking at Grainger’s Site they sell all sorts of weird items from hardware to cleaning supplies to safety equipment. You might need to word your search in different ways: cylinders, plastic cylinders, plexiglass cylinders etc. Or think of an item that may potentially be of the correct size (like a toilet flange or something else that is also a plastic cylinder).
Also try McMaster-Carr (similar site to Grainger’s)
And Gaylord (which is an archival product supply site).
Then check your local listings for any companies that make plastic or plexiglass products. (you may have to do searches with other plastic types such as Sintra and PVC, Acrylic, Polycarbonate etc.)
You could try Plastic Mart’s Site or contact them to see if they can better advise you.
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