Sheffield Plastics Polycarbonate Flat Sheet are clear and tough

Polycarbonate materials give you a great blend of beneficial features including high temperature resistance, impact resistance and optical properties position polycarbonates in between commodity plastics and engineering materials.
Polycarbonate is a very rugged material. Although it has outstanding impact-resistance, it's got low scratch-resistance and thus a hard coating is often applied to polycarbonate eye wear and polycarbonate exterior automotive components. The properties associated with polycarbonate are similar those of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA, acrylic), and yet 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 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 will have to be held at higher temperatures, generally above 80 °C (176 °F) for making strain- and almost stress free products.
Unlike many thermoplastics, polycarbonate can undergo massive changes in basic shape without breaking. Because of this, it may be processed and formed   without needing to be heated using standard sheet metal techniques, which include forming bends with a brake. For even 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 needed, which may not be produced from sheet metal. Please keep in mind PMMA/Plexiglas, which is similar in looks to polycarbonate, but it's brittle and cannot be bent unless it is heated.

The light weight of polycarbonate, compared with glass, has led to growth and development of electronic view screens that replace glass materials with polycarbonate, for use in mobile and portable devices. Such displays include newer e-ink and a few 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 types of items fabricated from Polycarbonate include durable, lightweight luggage, MP3/digital audio player cases, computer cases, high impact riot shields, instrument panels, and blender jars. Many toys and hobby items are manufactured 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 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 and become a very thick liquid. The liquid polycarbonate is then rapidly pushed into a mold, compressed under high pressure and cooled to produce a finished product in a matter of minutes.

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