Bayer Makrolon Polycarbonate materials offer a balance of beneficial features this includes high temperature resistance, impact resistance and optical properties position polycarbonates in between commodity plastic materials and engineering plastics.
Polycarbonate is a very rugged material. Whilst it features extraordinary impact-resistance, it possesses minimal scratch-resistance and thus a hard coating is applied to polycarbonate eyewear lenses and polycarbonate exterior automotive equipment. The characteristics of polycarbonate are generally along the lines of those of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA, acrylic), 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 it has better light transmission characteristics than many kinds of glass.
Polycarbonate carries a glass transition temperature of around 150 °C (302 °F), as a result it softens slowly above this point and flows above about 300°C (572 °F). Tools should be held at high temperatures, generally above 80 °C (176 °F) in order to make strain- and reduced stress products.
Unlike almost all other thermoplastics, polycarbonate can undergo large changes in basic shape without breaking or cracking. For this reason, it can be processed and formed without needing to be heated using standard sheet metal techniques, for example forming bends with a brake. Even for sharp angle bends having a tight radius, no heating is usually necessary. This makes it attractive prototyping applications where transparent or electrically non-conductive parts are essential, which should not be crafted from sheet metal. Please keep in mind PMMA/Plexiglas, that is similar in appearance to polycarbonate, but it’s brittle and can’t be bent unless it is heated.
The light weight of polycarbonate, in contrast to glass, has led to advancement of electronic view screens that replace glass materials with polycarbonate, for use in mobile and portable devices. Such displays include newer e-ink and several LCD screens, though CRT, plasma screen and other LCD technologies generally still require glass for its higher melting temperature and its ability to be etched with finer detail.
Other miscellaneous items fabricated 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 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 could be needed. This may be a coating (e.g. for improved abrasion resistance), or a coextrusion for enhanced weathering resistance.
Bayer Makrolon Polycarbonate is a thermoplastic that starts 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 and become a very thick liquid. This liquid polycarbonate is then rapidly injected into a mold with the empty part being the size and shape of the part you want, compressed under high pressure and cooled to create a finished product , all in just a minute or so.