Bayer Makrolon Polycarbonate Sheets offering light weight and break resistance

Makrolon Polycarbonate products have a great blend of useful features including temperature resistance, impact resistance and optical properties position polycarbonates between commodity plastics and engineering materials.
Polycarbonate is definitely a sturdy material. Whilst it features outstanding impact-resistance, it has got a lower scratch-resistance and thus a hard coating can be applied to polycarbonate eye protection and polycarbonate exterior vehicle equipment. The characteristics associated with polycarbonate are generally comparable to those of Acrylic PMMA 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 it has better light transmission characteristics than several types of glass.
Polycarbonate has a glass transition temperature of about 150 °C (302 °F), consequently it softens gradually above this point and flows above about 300°C (572 °F). Tools must be held at high temperatures, generally above 80 °C (176 °F) to make strain- and reduced stress products.
Unlike most other thermoplastics, polycarbonate can undergo large shape changes without breaking or cracking. Subsequently, it is sometimes processed and formed   cold using sheet metal techniques, for instance forming bends with a brake. Even for sharp angle bends with a tight radius, no heating is usually necessary. This makes it valuable in prototyping applications where transparent or electrically non-conductive parts are important, which cannot be created from sheet metal. Note that PMMA/Plexiglas, that is certainly similar in looks to polycarbonate, but it is brittle and can't be bent with out a heating process.

The light weight of polycarbonate, as opposed to glass, has led to advancement of electronic display screens that replace the traditional glass with polycarbonate, for use in mobile and portable devices. Such displays include newer e-ink as well as 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 kinds of items manufactured from Polycarbonate include durable, lightweight luggage, MP3/digital audio player cases, computer cases, high impact riot shields, instrument panels, and blender jars. Many toys and hobby items are made from 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 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, these small pellets are heated until they melt and become a very thick liquid. The liquid polycarbonate is then rapidly pushed into a mold with the empty part being the size and shape of the part you want, compressed under high pressure and cooled to produce a finished product , all in just a minute or so.

performance plastics