Polycarbonate products have a great blend of beneficial features this includes temp resistance, impact resistance and optical properties position polycarbonates in between commodity plastic materials and engineering plastics.
Polycarbonate is a very sturdy material. Although it features outstanding impact-resistance, it's got a lower scratch-resistance and so a hard coating typically is applied to polycarbonate eyeglasses as well as polycarbonate exterior automotive equipment. The characteristics associated with polycarbonate are similar those of Acrylic PMMA materials, yet , 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 several types of glass.
Polycarbonate has a glass transition temperature of approximately 150 °C (302 °F), therefore it softens slowly above this point and flows above about 300°C (572 °F). Tools ought to be held at warm to high temperatures, generally above 80 °C (176 °F) to help with making strain- and stress-free products.
Unlike many thermoplastics, polycarbonate can undergo large deformations without breaking. Due to this fact, it can be processed and formed at room temperature using standard sheet metal techniques, which include forming bends on a brake. For even sharp angle bends having a tight radius, no heating is generally necessary. This makes it valuable in prototyping applications where transparent or electrically non-conductive parts are important, which can not be crafted from sheet metal. Keep in mind that PMMA/Plexiglas, that is certainly similar in appearance to polycarbonate, but is brittle and cannot be bent at room temperature.
Polycarbonate is often found in eye protection, in addition to other projectile-resistant optical type applications that would normally be thought of as requiring the use of glass, but require higher 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 constructed from polycarbonate, such as for motorcycles, ATVs, golf carts, and small planes and helicopters.
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