Polycarbonate materials give you a unique balance of useful features including temp resistance, impact resistance and optical properties position polycarbonates between commodity plastics and engineering plastics.
Polycarbonate is a very tough material. Whilst it features extraordinary impact-resistance, it has low scratch-resistance and thus a hard coating is applied to polycarbonate eyewear lenses as well as polycarbonate exterior motor vehicle components. The characteristics associated with polycarbonate are generally similar to that of those of common Acrylic materials, but 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 has better light transmission characteristics than many different types of glass.
Polycarbonate carries a glass transition temperature of about 150 °C (302 °F), consequently it softens slowly above this point and flows above about 300°C (572 °F). Tools must be held at higher temperatures, generally above 80 °C (176 °F) to produce strain- and stress-free products.
Unlike most other thermoplastics, polycarbonate can undergo massive shape changes without cracking or breaking. For that reason, it is sometimes processed and formed without needing to be heated using sheet metal techniques, such as forming bends on a brake. Even for sharp angle bends with a tight radius, no heating is generally necessary. This makes it attractive prototyping applications where transparent or electrically non-conductive parts are required, which cannot be crafted from sheet metal. Please keep in mind PMMA/Plexiglas, which is similar in appearance to polycarbonate, but is brittle and can't be bent with out a heating process.
Polycarbonate is frequently used in eye protection, as well as in other projectile-resistant optical type applications that would normally require the use of glass, but require greater impact-resistance. Many different types of lenses are created from polycarbonate, including automotive headlamp lenses, lighting lenses, sunglass/eyeglass lenses, swimming and SCUBA goggles, and safety visors for use in sporting helmets/masks and police riot gear. Windscreens in small motorized vehicles are normally made up of polycarbonate, such as for motorcycles, ATVs, golf carts, and small planes and helicopters.
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