Believe it or not, synthetic ice is a dynamic skating alternative to traditional frozen water ice rinks. You can even install it in your own home, and it doesn’t have to be kept frozen. Millions of hockey players and other ice skating fans have built great ice skating rinks in their backyards, garages, or even living rooms out of this amazing flooring solution. But, what is it made out of? Is it safe? What is it? These are frequent questions from people that are curious about installing ice panels but are not sure about it. Want answers? Keep reading.
Early Synthetic Ice
Back in the 1960s developers created a type of artificial ice flooring that is similar to the ice panels that we have today but were far less useable. Back in those days plastic was just beginning to take on its useful form but was not quite there yet. The flooring that they developed back then needed a topical additive that would keep the floor slick enough for the ice skate blades to glide across. They called this solution a “gliding agent.”
On top of the constant addition of an outside lubricant, the gliding agent would begin to get sticky and form a buildup on top of the surface that had to be scraped away. When artificial ice first hit the world, it was a little bit of a pain. However, developers did not give up.
The Variable of Polymer Plastics
So, yes, the easy explanation of what synthetic ice is made out of would be to say plastic. Of course, there may be much more to plastic than meets the eye. Not all plastics are the same. When the first developments of artificial ice took place, the material that it was made out of was not the same as it is today. Today, ice panels are made out of a special polymer plastic that allows it to be formulated on a molecular level.
Polymers are actually naturally occurring chains of molecules that make up much of the material that we see on a daily basis. One of the most common forms of polymers is the human DNA chain. Once scientists were able to mimic the way that DNA chains are formed, the sky was the limit for synthetic plastics and other materials.
Since polymer plastics are made out of large molecules that are chained together in a dynamic structure, developers learned that they could infuse lubricating agents and other molecules into the very fabric of the ice panels and create a great, long-lasting skating platform.
Self-Lubricating Ice Panels
When you ice skate on frozen water, the friction of the ice skates causes heat to happen. The heat causes ice to melt and form a little bit of water on the surface of the ice. As the ice skates glide across the surface, there is just enough water to act as a natural lubricant and allow for an easy, slick skating experience.
Ice panels, on the other hand, are manufactured in a way that when skaters skate across the surface a tiny amount of lubricant is brought to the surface of the panels in order to allow the skates to glide much like they would on traditional ice.
Conclusion
Synthetic ice panels are easy to install, lightweight, and long-lasting. All that you need is a hard, flat, level surface and you can build a great place to play hockey or just practice on. You can create a rink and practice shots with a hockey shooting tarp. It is made out of some of toughest plastic on the planet and can withstand the heat of the sun along with the abuse of a whole hockey team.
***Sniper’s Edge Hockey loves Canada! We proudly ship all of our products to Canada and offer the same return policies as we do for everybody else. We realize the exchange rates for the Canadian dollar are not the best right now, so we’re trying to help by giving you free shipping and no customs/duty.***