Polycarbonate plastic products give you a unique balance of helpful features which include temperature resistance, impact resistance and optical properties position polycarbonates between commodity plastic materials and engineering plastic materials.
Polycarbonate is a very tough material. Even though it features exceptional impact-resistance, it has got a lower scratch-resistance and thus a hard coating is applied to polycarbonate eyeglasses lenses as well as polycarbonate exterior automotive components. The properties associated with polycarbonate are similar to those of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA, acrylic), but polycarbonate is undoubtedly 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 has better light transmission characteristics than several types of glass.
Polycarbonate carries a glass transition temperature of approximately 150 °C (302 °F), so it softens slowly above this point and flows above about 300°C (572 °F). Tools will have to be held at high temperatures, generally above 80 °C (176 °F) to help with making strain- and almost stress free products.
Unlike most thermoplastics, polycarbonate can undergo massive shape changes without cracking. Subsequently, it could be processed and formed without needing to be heated using standard sheet metal techniques, such as forming bends with a brake. For even sharp angle bends having a tight radius, no heating is usually necessary. This makes it attractive prototyping applications where transparent or electrically non-conductive parts are necessary, which can not be crafted from sheet metal. Be aware that PMMA/Plexiglas, which is similar in appearance to polycarbonate, but is brittle and cannot be bent unless it is heated.
The light weight of polycarbonate, compared to glass, has led to advancement of electronic display screens that replace glass materials with polycarbonate, for use in mobile and portable devices. Such displays include newer e-ink and several LCD screens, though CRT, plasma screen and other LCD technologies which still do require glass for its higher melting temperature and its ability to be etched in finer detail.
Other miscellaneous items made out of Polycarbonate include durable, lightweight luggage, MP3/digital audio player cases, computer cases, police riot shields, instrument panels, and common style blender jars. Many toys and hobby goods are produced from polycarbonate parts, e.g. fins, gyro mounts, and flybar locks for use with radio-controlled helicopters.
For use in applications exposed to weathering or UV-radiation, a special surface treatment is needed. This either can be a coating (e.g. for improved abrasion resistance), or perhaps the coextrusion for enhanced weathering resistance.
The Makrolon Polycarbonate is a thermoplastic that at the beginning, starts as a solid material in the form of small pellets. In a manufacturing process called injection molding, the pelletized resin is heated until they melt. The melted liquid polycarbonate is then rapidly pushed into the mold - shaped like the part, compressed under high pressure and cooled to produce a finished product in less than a minute.
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