Sheffield Plastics Polycarbonate Sheeting offering light weight and break resistance
Bayer Makrolon Polycarbonate products give you a unique balance of beneficial features which include temperature resistance, impact resistance and optical properties position polycarbonates between commodity plastics and engineering materials.
Polycarbonate is definitely a tough material. Though it offers extraordinary impact-resistance, it's got low scratch-resistance and thus a hard coating is often applied to polycarbonate eyeglasses as well as polycarbonate exterior motor vehicle equipment. The characteristics associated with polycarbonate are generally similar to 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 near 150 °C (302 °F), in order that it softens gradually above this point and flows above about 300°C (572 °F). Tools should be held at high temperatures, generally above 80 °C (176 °F) to produce strain- and almost stress free products.
Unlike many thermoplastics, polycarbonate can undergo dramatic shape changes without breaking. Because of that, it can be processed and formed at room temperature using standard sheet metal techniques, such as forming bends with a brake. For even sharp angle bends having a tight radius, no heating is generally necessary. This makes it useful for prototyping applications where transparent or electrically non-conductive parts are necessary, which may not be created from sheet metal. Please keep in mind PMMA/Plexiglas, that is certainly similar in looks to polycarbonate, but it is brittle and cannot be bent unless it is heated.
The light weight of polycarbonate, unlike glass, has led to continuing development of electronic touch 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 do require glass for its higher melting temperature and its ability to be etched in finer detail.
Other kinds of items produced from 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 subjected 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 starts as a solid plastic 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 a mold, compressed under high pressure and cooled to produce a finished product , that only takes about a minute to complete.
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