Bayer Makrolon Polycarbonate Flat Sheet offering light weight and break resistance
Polycarbonate materials offer a balance of useful features including high temperature resistance, impact resistance and optical properties position polycarbonates in between commodity plastic materials and engineering materials.
Polycarbonate is a very sturdy material. Whilst it offers higher impact-resistance, it's got a lower scratch-resistance and thus a hard coating is often applied to polycarbonate eyeglasses lenses and polycarbonate exterior motor vehicle equipment. The characteristics associated with polycarbonate are generally along the lines of those of Acrylic PMMA materials, although polycarbonate is actually stronger, it is usable in a wider temperature range and is a bit more expensive. This plastic polymer is highly transparent to visible light and it has better light transmission characteristics than many different types of glass.
Polycarbonate carries a glass transition temperature near 150 °C (302 °F), consequently it softens slowly above this point and flows above about 300°C (572 °F). Tools must be held at warm to high temperatures, generally above 80 °C (176 °F) to produce strain- and reduced stress products.
Unlike most other thermoplastics, polycarbonate can undergo dramatic shape changes without breaking or cracking. Subsequently, for small changes in shape, it can be processed and formed without needing to be heated using standard sheet metal techniques, which include forming bends with a brake. Even for sharp angle bends with a tight radius, no heating is usually necessary. This makes it attractive prototyping applications where transparent or electrically non-conductive parts are needed, which can not be produced from sheet metal. Be aware that PMMA/Plexiglas, which is similar in appearance to polycarbonate, but it's brittle and cannot be bent at room temperature.
Polycarbonate is frequently found in eye protection, along with other projectile-resistant viewing and lighting applications that would normally be thought of as requiring the use of glass, but require greater impact-resistance. Many kinds of lenses are manufactured from polycarbonate, including automotive headlamp lenses, lighting lenses, sunglass/eyeglass lenses, swimming and SCUBA goggles, and safety visors for use in sporting helmets/masks and police riot gear. Windscreens in small motorized vehicles are normally made of polycarbonate, such as for motorcycles, ATVs, golf carts, and small planes and helicopters.
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