Makrolon Polycarbonate products give you a balance of helpful features this includes temp resistance, impact resistance and optical properties position polycarbonates in between commodity plastic materials and engineering plastic materials.
Polycarbonate is a very durable material. Whilst it has very high impact-resistance, it has got low scratch-resistance and so a hard coating is applied to polycarbonate eye wear lenses and polycarbonate exterior vehicle equipment. The properties of polycarbonate are generally comparable to those of Acrylic PMMA materials, yet , polycarbonate is always 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 many different types of glass.
Polycarbonate carries a glass transition temperature of about 150 °C (302 °F), therefore 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 help with making strain- and reduced stress products.
Unlike most thermoplastics, polycarbonate can undergo large changes in basic shape without cracking. For this reason, it can be processed and formed  at room temperature using sheet metal techniques, such as forming bends on a brake. For even sharp angle bends having a tight radius, no heating is generally necessary. This makes it valuable in prototyping applications where transparent or electrically non-conductive parts are necessary, which cannot be produced from sheet metal. Keep in mind that PMMA/Plexiglas, that is certainly similar in appearance to polycarbonate, but it’s brittle and can’t be bent unless it is heated.
The light weight of polycarbonate, as opposed to glass, has led to 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 some 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 with finer detail.
Other kinds of items fabricated from Polycarbonate include durable, lightweight luggage, MP3/digital audio player cases, computer cases, riot shields, instrument panels, and blender jars. Many toys and hobby products are made of 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 could be needed. This either can be a coating (e.g. for improved abrasion resistance), or 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, the pellets are heated until they melt in to a thick liquid. The melted liquid polycarbonate is then rapidly pushed into the mold – shaped like the part, compressed under high pressure and cooled to create a finished product , that only takes about a minute to complete.