I am in the planning stage of a table project and have a question about a piece of acrylic. I intend to use a 3' x 3' square piece of acrylic that is 0.236" thick as the center. Would a 1" lip on all edges be enough to prevent this large acrylic sheet from sagging in the middle? Is there any way to calculate the thickness I need?
Will piece of Acrylic sag
acrylicinstallation
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Best Answer
Until you get to very thick small units, or goods more rigid than plexi (such as glass, which also flexes and sags) you will have some deflection. It also depends on whether there will be any weight on it.
If 1/4 inch (with no load) is not a problem (this is a guess) then you may be ok. If you are putting a 10 lb. plaster statue on it, it will flex. If it can't flex more than .001 inch, no matter what, it won't work.
It also depends on how you affix the edges. The more captured they are, the less flex. Touching the middle of a 3x3 acrylic sheet, less than 1/4 inch thick, that is not tightly locked around the edges, will likely flex significantly.
Manufacturers may offer specs on how much their plastic flexes over certain distances.