Polycarbonate materials give you a balance of useful features including temperature resistance, impact resistance and optical properties position polycarbonates between commodity plastic materials and engineering plastics.
Polycarbonate is definitely a sturdy material. Though it has greater impact-resistance, it possesses minimal scratch-resistance and thus a hard coating could be applied to polycarbonate eye wear as well as polycarbonate exterior motor vehicle components. The characteristics associated with polycarbonate are like those of common Acrylic materials, yet , polycarbonate is definitely 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 many different types of glass.
Polycarbonate carries a glass transition temperature of about 150 °C (302 °F), therefore it softens slowly above this point and flows above about 300°C (572 °F). Tools should be held at warm to high temperatures, generally above 80 °C (176 °F) to help make strain- and stress-free products.
Unlike most thermoplastics, polycarbonate can undergo massive shape changes without cracking or breaking. For this reason, it can be processed and formed cold using standard sheet metal techniques, for instance forming bends with a brake. Even for 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 required, which can’t be crafted from sheet metal. Remember that PMMA/Plexiglas, that is similar in appearance to polycarbonate, but is brittle and cannot be bent unless it is heated.
The light weight of polycarbonate, in contrast to glass, has led to growth and development of electronic display screens that replace glass with polycarbonate, for use in mobile and portable devices. Such displays include newer e-ink and some LCD screens, though CRT, plasma screen and other LCD technologies which still require glass for its higher melting temperature and its ability to be etched in finer detail.
Other kinds of items made out of Polycarbonate include durable, lightweight luggage, MP3/digital audio player cases, computer cases, riot shields, instrument panels, and common style blender jars. Many toys and hobby items 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 maybe needed. This can be a coating (e.g. for improved abrasion resistance), or a coextrusion for enhanced weathering resistance.
Bayer 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, this pellet material is heated until they melt. The melted liquid polycarbonate is then rapidly injected into a mold with the empty part being the size and shape of the part you want, compressed under high pressure and cooled to form a finished product in less than a minute.