Polycarbonate plastic materials offer a unique balance of useful features which include high temperature resistance, impact resistance and optical properties position polycarbonates in between commodity plastic materials and engineering plastics.
Polycarbonate is a very rugged material. Though it offers exceptional impact-resistance, it has lower scratch-resistance and thus a hard coating is often applied to polycarbonate eyewear lenses and polycarbonate exterior motor vehicle components. The properties of polycarbonate are generally similar those of common Acrylic materials, but 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 kinds of glass.
Polycarbonate has a glass transition temperature near 150 °C (302 °F), so it softens slowly above this point and flows above about 300°C (572 °F). Tools are required to be held at warm to high temperatures, generally above 80 °C (176 °F) to help make strain- and almost stress free products.
Unlike most other thermoplastics, polycarbonate can undergo massive changes in basic shape without breaking. Subsequently, it may 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 useful for prototyping applications where transparent or electrically non-conductive parts are crucial, which may not be produced from sheet metal. Please keep in mind PMMA/Plexiglas, which is similar in appearance to polycarbonate, but is brittle and cannot be bent with out a heating process.
Polycarbonate is often used in eye protection, as well as in other projectile-resistant see through applications that would normally require the use of glass, but require greater impact-resistance. Several types of lenses are made of 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 typically made up of polycarbonate, such as for motorcycles, ATVs, golf carts, and small planes and helicopters.
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