Lexan Polycarbonate Sheet offering light weight and break resistance
Makrolon Polycarbonate materials give you a unique balance of beneficial features this includes high temperature resistance, impact resistance and optical properties position polycarbonates between commodity plastics and engineering plastics.
Polycarbonate is definitely a rugged material. Though it features greater impact-resistance, it possesses reduced scratch-resistance and thus a hard coating can be applied to polycarbonate eyewear lenses as well as polycarbonate exterior automotive equipment. The characteristics relating to polycarbonate are similar those of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA, acrylic), and yet polycarbonate is 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 most grades of glass.
Polycarbonate carries a glass transition temperature of about 150 °C (302 °F), consequently it softens slowly above this point and flows above about 300°C (572 °F). Tools must be held at high temperatures, generally above 80 °C (176 °F) to help make strain- and stress-free products.
Unlike many thermoplastics, polycarbonate can undergo large shape changes without breaking. Because of that, it may be processed and formed at room temperature using standard sheet metal techniques, for example forming bends with a brake. For even sharp angle bends with a tight radius, no heating is usually necessary. This makes it valuable in prototyping applications where transparent or electrically non-conductive parts are necessary, which can not be made from sheet metal. Please keep in mind PMMA/Plexiglas, which happens to be similar in appearance to polycarbonate, but it is brittle and cannot be bent at room temperature.
The light weight of polycarbonate, compared with glass, has led to growth and development of electronic view screens that replace the traditional 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 do require glass for its higher melting temperature and its ability to be etched with finer detail.
Other miscellaneous items made from Polycarbonate include durable, lightweight luggage, MP3/digital audio player cases, computer cases, high impact riot shields, instrument panels, and common style blender jars. Many toys and hobby products are constructed from polycarbonate parts, e.g. fins, gyro mounts, and flybar locks for use with radio-controlled helicopters.
For use in applications subjected to weathering or UV-radiation, a special surface treatment could be needed. This may 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, these small pellets are heated until they melt in to a thick liquid. The melted liquid polycarbonate is then rapidly pushed into molds, compressed under high pressure and cooled to create a finished product in a matter of minutes.
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