Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about Astra Products.
We’ve gathered the most common questions about CLAREX acrylic materials and our process to provide you with a comprehensive guide to our products and services.
Whether you’re curious about where CLAREX is manufactured, what makes it unique, or how to customize your order, we have the answers. Our goal is to help you understand why CLAREX stands out for high-performance applications, from optical clarity to light diffusion and reflection control, so you can make informed decisions for your projects.
CLAREX FAQs
Where is the CLAREX material made?
CLAREX acrylic is manufactured in Japan by Nitto Jushi Kogyo Co., Ltd. (NJK).
Astra Products is the exclusive North American sales agent for CLAREX materials and works directly with customers to provide standard sheets, custom material configurations, and fabricated finished parts.
What makes CLAREX so special?
CLAREX acrylic products are manufactured under strict process controls to achieve a level of optical quality, consistency, and customization that is difficult to match with standard commercial acrylic. Key advantages include:
- Higher molecular weight:
CLAREX has a molecular weight approximately 4x higher than extruded acrylic and 2x higher than commercial-grade cast acrylic, contributing to its material quality and performance. - High-purity raw materials:
CLAREX is made with highly purified ingredients, supporting excellent long-path light transmission for applications such as light guides and very low autofluorescence for applications such as microfluidics. - Minimal birefringence:
CLAREX is designed for applications where polarization and optical distortion are critical considerations. - Exceptional surface quality:
Highly polished mold sets help produce sheets with very low surface roughness and minimal wavefront distortion. - Ultra-thin cast acrylic:
CLAREX can be cell-cast in thicknesses as low as 0.1 mm (0.004″), providing optical-grade performance in applications that require very thin material. - Optical-grade hard coating:
The acrylic-based hardcoat is designed to resist delamination, withstand outdoor and UV exposure, and maintain the underlying optical characteristics of the material. - Hard-coated non-glare surfaces:
CLAREX can be hard-coated directly over a molded-in non-glare texture without filling in or compromising the texture. Other methods may rely on particles within the hardcoat to create a non-glare surface, which can reduce optical quality and transmission. - 100% visual inspection:
Every sheet is visually inspected to help ensure consistent optical and cosmetic quality. - Highly customizable configurations:
CLAREX can be manufactured to meet very specific combinations of thickness, color, texture, coating, and other material requirements, even in relatively small quantities. For instance, if you need a single sheet of a specific green acrylic in 1.2 mm thickness, with non-glare #1 texture on one side and hardcoat on the opposite side, CLAREX can accommodate it. A highly specific custom configuration like this can typically be produced in about four weeks.
How do you recommend fabricating the CLAREX materials?
CLAREX acrylic products are cell-cast acrylic (PMMA) and can generally be fabricated using the same methods as other high-quality cast acrylic materials.
CLAREX can be:
- Scored and snapped, similar to glass
- Laser cut using a CO2 laser
- CNC machined using tooling designed for hard plastics
- Saw cut using blades designed for hard plastics
- Thermoformed when using uncoated materials
CLAREX should not be die cut, punched, or cut with scissors, as these methods can crack or damage the material.
Product & Customization FAQs
How do the diffusers work?
The main product line of diffusers, DR-IIISX and DR-IIIC, are comprised of cast acrylic with light scattering particles loaded in along with matte textures front and back. They are considered bulk diffusers, meaning they have no orientation, they scatter light in all directions. They are typically sold as pure white, so they do not have any color shift, however, color matched diffusers are an option. The DR-III diffusers are available from 5% up to 93% transmission in 5% increments. And thicknesses range from 0.2 to 2.0mm, although there are some minimum thickness restrictions for some of the transmission levels. The thickness and transmission are independent, so a 0.5mm 70% diffuser will perform the same as a 2.0mm 70% diffuser.
The higher the transmission, the lower the hiding power, and vice versa. So if you have an LED array and you are trying to hide the hot spots from the LEDs you can start with a high transmission diffuser and keep stepping down in transmission level until you get the uniformity you are looking for. Increasing the gap between the diffuser and the LED also helps. We’re happy to send out samples for your testing and evaluation. Many of our customers are able to increase the brightness of an OEM display (brightness enhancement) simply by swapping out the OEM diffuser and replacing it with a CLAREX diffuser with higher transmission while maintaining the same OEM backlight uniformity.
How much light is transmitted and reflected by standard acrylic (PMMA)?
When light passes through a clear acrylic sheet, most of it is transmitted through the material, while a small percentage is reflected at each surface.
For standard clear acrylic (PMMA), approximately:
- 92% of visible light is transmitted through the material.
- 8% is reflected, with about 4% reflecting from the front surface and another 4% from the back surface.
This surface reflection is why even clear acrylic can produce noticeable glare. Anti-reflective coatings can be used when an application requires higher light transmission or reduced reflections.
Is it possible to reduce the reflection?
Yes, it is possible to add an anti-reflective coating to one or both surfaces. The anti-reflective coating is typically applied as a vacuum deposition process.
Whereas an uncoated acrylic surface will typically reflect about 4% of incident light, an anti-reflection (AR) coated surface will reflect <1% of visible light. If the coating is applied to both sides of a clear acrylic sheet, the resulting transmission would increase from ~92% to ~98%, and the reflections would decrease from ~8% to ~2%. This reduction in reflections can make it possible to see a display under direct sunlight conditions and it can help to eliminate ghost imaging for a camera enclosure.
What are the drawbacks of anti-reflective coating?
Anti-reflective coatings perform well, can significantly improve optical performance and may be essential for some applications, but there are a few tradeoffs to consider.
1. Cost.
Anti-reflective coatings are more expensive to produce because they require multiple coating layers to be applied in a vacuum chamber.
2. Fingerprints & Smudging.
Smudges are highly visible on an anti-reflective surface, and because the coating is naturally oleophilic, or oil-attracting, fingerprints can be difficult to clean.
To help address this, many CLAREX anti-reflective sheets include an anti-fingerprint, or oleophobic, coating on one side. This does not prevent smudges completely, but it makes them much easier to remove.
The tradeoff is that adhesives do not bond well to the anti-fingerprint surface, and the surface cannot be printed on. If your application requires adhesive bonding or printing, the coating configuration should be considered during the design process.
What is a non-glare (AKA anti-glare) surface?
A non-glare, or anti-glare, surface is a textured surface designed to reduce visible reflections and glare from ambient light.
Rather than reflecting light in a single direction like a smooth, glossy surface, the texture scatters reflected light across a wider range of angles. This makes reflections less noticeable and can improve visibility in applications such as displays, instrumentation, control panels, and optical windows.
The tradeoff is that a nonglare texture can slightly reduce image sharpness and light transmission compared with a polished surface. The amount of texture should therefore be selected based on the level of glare reduction and optical clarity your application requires.
What is the difference between anti-reflective coatings and non-glare texture?
The anti-reflective coating physically reduces the amount of light that is reflected off of the surface it is applied to.
The non-glare textures do not change the amount of light reflected off of a surface, instead, they diffuse the light so that it is not as distracting to the viewer.
It is possible to combine anti-reflective coatings with non-glare texture.
If you have an outdoor display with bad reflections, can you put an anti-reflection coated filter in front of it to reduce reflection?
Unfortunately, it’s not usually that easy. Adding an anti-reflective filter in front of a reflective display does not eliminate the reflections coming from the display itself.
An anti-reflective coated material is designed to minimize reflections from its own surfaces. You can think of it as being nearly “invisible.” If the LCD or display behind it is the source of the glare, placing an anti-reflective filter in front will not significantly reduce those underlying reflections.
To solve the problem, you need to address the surface where the reflections are actually occurring. Depending on the application, this may include:
- Sourcing the LCD or display from the manufacturer with an anti-reflective coating already applied to the front surface.
- Optically bonding an anti-reflective material directly to the front of the display, which can help reduce reflections at the interface.
The best solution depends on the display construction, viewing environment, and required optical performance.
Do the anti-reflective coatings work in the near infrared and ultraviolet ranges?
Sort of. The standard anti-reflective coatings are designed to minimize the reflections in the visible range. The side effect of that coating design is that it actually increases the reflections in the near infrared (NIR) range. But the factory is able to custom-tune the anti-reflective coatings for specific applications.
One option is to design the coating for minimum reflections across the NIR range. In that case, it will create a lot of reflection in the visible range…..the filters will look like they have a partial mirror coating. If you only care about NIR transmission, then it’s no problem. But if you need to minimize both visible and NIR reflections, the factory could custom-tune a coating to target the visible range and a specific NIR wavelength. The same goes for the UV range.
How does color matching work?
To match a specific acrylic color, you can send us either the color specifications or a physical sample.
The factory will first compare your requested color against its extensive library of previously developed pigment formulations. If a matching formulation already exists, the material can be produced in that color without additional development.
If there is not an existing match, the factory can develop a new custom pigment formulation for a nominal fee, typically a few hundred dollars. Once the formulation is created, it can be used for future orders whenever you need that custom color again.
Ordering FAQs
How can I place an order?
Because CLAREX materials are available in many configurations, we recommend contacting us by phone or email before placing an order. Our team can review your application and help make sure you select the right material, thickness, coating, adhesive, or fabrication options for your project.
For this reason, we do not offer an online shopping cart. Orders can be submitted by email or fax, or placed directly over the phone.
We accept credit cards, ACH payments, wire transfers, and bank checks. Please note that all bank checks must be issued by a U.S. bank.
What are typical lead times?
Lead times depend on material availability and the level of fabrication required.
- Stock material: Typically ships the next business day after we receive your order.
- Laser-cut parts from stock material: Typically less than one week.
- CNC-routed parts or parts with adhesive: Typically 2 to 3 weeks when the required material is in stock.
- Custom-made material: Typically 4 to 6 weeks for either full sheets or finished parts.
Lead times can vary based on material specifications, quantity, coatings, and other custom requirements. Contact us with your project details for a more accurate estimate.
Are there minimum order quantities?
Not really. In most cases, our minimum order quantities are very flexible.
For material we have in stock, the minimum order quantity (MOQ) is typically just one sheet. If you need finished parts, we can often produce quantities that use less than a full sheet of material.
Even custom-made material can often be ordered in quantities as small as one sheet. However, custom production involves setup costs, and those costs must be incorporated into the order. As a result, ordering a single custom sheet can be significantly more expensive on a per-sheet basis than ordering a larger quantity.
Certain specialty options, such as custom anti-reflective coatings, may require higher minimum order quantities. Our team can review your requirements and recommend the most practical and cost-effective option for your application.