Lexan Polycarbonate Sheeting are clear and tough
Bayer Makrolon Polycarbonate products have a unique balance of useful features including high temperature resistance, impact resistance and optical properties position polycarbonates between commodity plastic materials and engineering materials.
Polycarbonate is a very tough material. Though it features high impact-resistance, it possesses low scratch-resistance and thus a hard coating is often applied to polycarbonate eye wear and polycarbonate exterior automobile components. The characteristics of polycarbonate tend to be 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 several types of glass.
Polycarbonate has a glass transition temperature of about 150 °C (302 °F), in order that it softens gradually above this point and flows above about 300°C (572 °F). Tools need to be held at higher temperatures, generally above 80 °C (176 °F) to make strain- and reduced stress products.
Unlike most thermoplastics, polycarbonate can undergo massive shape changes without breaking or cracking. Because of that, it is sometimes processed and formed cold 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 useful for prototyping applications where transparent or electrically non-conductive parts are important, which cannot be produced from sheet metal. Please keep in mind PMMA/Plexiglas, that is certainly similar in appearance to polycarbonate, but is brittle and can't be bent with out a heating process.
The light weight of polycarbonate, compared to glass, has led to growth and development of electronic touch screens that replace the traditional glass with polycarbonate, for use in mobile and portable devices. Such displays include newer e-ink and many LCD screens, though CRT, plasma screen and other LCD technologies which still require glass for its higher melting temperature and the ability to be etched with finer detail.
Other kinds of items fabricated from Polycarbonate include durable, lightweight luggage, MP3/digital audio player cases, computer cases, riot shields, instrument panels, and blender jars. Many toys and hobby goods are made 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 may be a coating (e.g. for improved abrasion resistance), or as a coextrusion for enhanced weathering resistance.
Bayer Makrolon Polycarbonate is a thermoplastic that begins as a solid material in the form of small pellets. In a manufacturing process called injection molding, the pellets are heated until they melt in to a thick liquid. This liquid polycarbonate is then rapidly pushed into a mold with the empty part being the size and shape of the part you want, compressed under high pressure and cooled to produce a finished product , that only takes about a minute to complete.
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