Sheffield Plastics Polycarbonate Sheet are considered unbreakable
Polycarbonate materials give you a great blend of helpful features which include temp resistance, impact resistance and optical properties position polycarbonates between commodity plastics and engineering materials.
Polycarbonate is a very tough material. Even though it offers tremendous impact-resistance, it has a lower scratch-resistance and thus a hard coating could be applied to polycarbonate eye wear and polycarbonate exterior motor vehicle components. The properties of polycarbonate are like those of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA, acrylic), except polycarbonate definitely 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 many different types of glass.
Polycarbonate has a glass transition temperature of around 150 °C (302 °F), so it softens slowly 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) for making strain- and reduced stress products.
Unlike most other thermoplastics, polycarbonate can undergo massive changes in basic shape without cracking. For that reason, it is sometimes 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 generally necessary. This makes it valuable in prototyping applications where transparent or electrically non-conductive parts are required, which may not be created from sheet metal. Remember that PMMA/Plexiglas, which is similar in looks to polycarbonate, but it's brittle and cannot be bent with out a heating process.
The light weight of polycarbonate, in contrast to glass, has led to advancement of electronic display 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 its 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 items are made out of 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 as a 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, this pellet material is heated until they melt in to a thick liquid. This liquid polycarbonate is then rapidly pushed into the mold - shaped like the part, compressed under high pressure and cooled to form a finished product , all in just a minute or so.
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