Makrolon Polycarbonate products have a balance of beneficial features which include high temperature resistance, impact resistance and optical properties position polycarbonates in between commodity plastic materials and engineering plastic materials.
Polycarbonate is a very durable material. Even though it offers greater impact-resistance, it possesses reduced scratch-resistance and thus a hard coating is often applied to polycarbonate eye protection as well as polycarbonate exterior auto equipment. The characteristics relating to polycarbonate are similar to 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 has better light transmission characteristics than most grades 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 warm to high temperatures, generally above 80 °C (176 °F) to make strain- and stress-free products.
Unlike most thermoplastics, polycarbonate can undergo large changes in basic shape without cracking. Because of that, it can be processed and formed at room temperature using sheet metal techniques, such as 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 should not be crafted from sheet metal. Understand that PMMA/Plexiglas, that is certainly similar in appearance to polycarbonate, but it is brittle and cannot be bent unless it is heated.
The light weight of polycarbonate, compared with glass, has led to continuing 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 many LCD screens, though CRT, plasma screen and other LCD technologies still generally require glass for its higher melting temperature and the ability to be etched in finer detail.
Other types 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 products 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 is needed. This may be a coating (e.g. for improved abrasion resistance), or a coextrusion for enhanced weathering resistance.
The 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 pelletized resin is heated until they melt. The melted 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 in less than a minute.
