Polycarbonate (PC)

Polycarbonate is a versatile plastic material primarily characterized by its exceptional impact resistance, excellent optical clarity, and good heat resistance. Polycarbonate is ideal for demanding engineering components, machine guards, and safety solutions where both transparency and mechanical strength are essential. With the right grade of polycarbonate, products can become safer, lighter, and more structurally durable.

 

PC 1000

What is Polycarbonate Plastic and How is it Used?

What sets polycarbonate apart from many other engineering plastics is its combination of glass-like transparency and a virtually unbreakable structure. Polycarbonate retains its excellent mechanical properties over a wide temperature range, making it an ideal solution for both harsh industrial environments and advanced engineering components.

The material is used across numerous industries in various types of products. In industrial sectors, polycarbonate is the go-to choice for components, shielding, and instrument parts that demand high standards of safety, light transmission, and formability.

Three Common Variants of PC

Standard Polycarbonate

The standard grade is a thermoplastic featuring a fully transparent structure and excellent light transmission in its base form. This gives the material a crystal-clear appearance with a high surface finish. It possesses unbeatable toughness and is easy to machine, making it suitable for components that require precise shaping and high impact resistance indoors.

UV-Stabilized Polycarbonate

This is a modified variant featuring added UV protection to provide the material with higher resistance to sunlight. This makes the plastic more weather-resistant, effectively preventing yellowing and cracking in demanding outdoor environments.

Scratch-Resistant and Specially Modified Polycarbonate

For environments where the material is exposed to mechanical wear or aggressive cleaning agents, grades with a hard surface coating are available. This significantly improves both scratch and chemical resistance without compromising the material's unique impact strength.

Typical Properties and Processing Methods for Polycarbonate

Extreme Impact Resistance and Toughness

Because polycarbonate has a unique ability to absorb energy without cracking, it is often referred to as "unbreakable plastic." Consequently, the material is regularly used in the production of machine guards, protective glazing, and components exposed to heavy mechanical loads or external impacts.

High Heat Resistance and Dimensional Stability

The material retains its shape and mechanical properties at elevated temperatures significantly better than many other transparent plastics. This ensures excellent dimensional accuracy for the design, providing great freedom when it comes to precision and tight tolerances during machining.

Good Formability and Mechanical Properties

Polycarbonate offers highly effective insulation properties and low moisture absorption, while being significantly lighter than glass and metals. The material has excellent machinability and can easily be sawed, drilled, milled, or thermoformed. Additionally, thin gauges can be cold-bent, offering optimal flexibility in the design process.

Balanced Choices for Optimal Performance

Polycarbonate can be remelted and recycled, making it a suitable alternative from a resource perspective as well. To achieve the best results, it is important to weigh the material's advantages—such as impact resistance and transparency—against its limitations regarding chemical resistance to certain solvents and chemicals. An objective analysis of the operating environment ensures that polycarbonate delivers the right performance for your specific application.

We Help You Find the Right (Engineering Plastic) PC Plastic

Different applications require different properties, and choosing the right material can make a major difference in terms of lifespan, functionality, and cost. Carlsson & Möller has extensive experience in engineering plastics and will gladly help you select the right grade of polycarbonate for your design, environment, and requirements.

Contact us

Frequently Asked Questions about Polycarbonate (PC)

  • Polycarbonate is a transparent, thermoplastic engineering plastic known for its exceptionally high impact resistance and good heat resistance compared to many other plastics.

  • Polycarbonate is frequently used for protective sheets, machine guards, safety glass, enclosures, electronic components, and applications where both strength and transparency are required.

  • Yes, polycarbonate is extremely impact-resistant and is often used as a safer alternative to glass in environments with a risk of impacts or shocks.

  • Yes, PC is naturally transparent and can achieve very high light transmission, making the material popular for windows, guards, and optical applications. In thicker dimensions, the material is not transparent and is therefore referred to as industrial polycarbonate.

  • Polycarbonate is significantly more impact-resistant than acrylic, whereas acrylic often provides better scratch resistance and optical clarity. The choice depends on your requirements for strength and surface finish.

  • Polycarbonate has good heat resistance and retains its mechanical properties better than many other transparent plastics at elevated temperatures.

  • Standard polycarbonate has limited UV resistance, but UV-stabilized grades are available that are suitable for outdoor use.

  • Yes, PC is easy to machine by sawing, drilling, milling, and thermoforming, making it highly flexible for both industrial and custom solutions.

  • Polycarbonate has limited chemical resistance and can be affected by certain solvents and chemicals. Material selection should always be tailored to the specific environment.

  • Polycarbonate is an excellent choice when you need to combine high impact resistance, transparency, and heat resistance—for example, in guards, safety solutions, and technical enclosures.