Lexan Polycarbonate Sheeting are clear and tough

Polycarbonate products give you a unique balance of helpful features including high temperature resistance, impact resistance and optical properties position polycarbonates between commodity plastics and engineering plastics.
Polycarbonate is definitely a tough material. Though it offers high impact-resistance, it has minimal scratch-resistance and thus a hard coating can be applied to polycarbonate eye protection lenses as well as polycarbonate exterior vehicle components. The properties relating to polycarbonate are generally like those of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA, acrylic), and yet polycarbonate 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 different types of glass.
Polycarbonate has a glass transition temperature near 150 °C (302 °F), as a result it softens slowly above this point and flows above about 300°C (572 °F). Tools ought to be held at high temperatures, generally above 80 °C (176 °F) for making strain- and reduced stress products.
Unlike most thermoplastics, polycarbonate can undergo dramatic deformations without breaking or cracking. For this reason, it is sometimes processed and formed   at room temperature using sheet metal techniques, such as forming bends with a brake. Even for 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 can not be created from sheet metal. Note that PMMA/Plexiglas, that is similar in looks to polycarbonate, but is brittle and cannot be bent unless it is heated.

The light weight of polycarbonate, compared 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 many LCD screens, though CRT, plasma screen and other LCD technologies which still do require glass for its higher melting temperature and its ability to be etched with finer detail.
Other kinds of items created from Polycarbonate include durable, lightweight luggage, MP3/digital audio player cases, computer cases, high impact 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.
The Makrolon Polycarbonate is a thermoplastic that begins as a solid plastic material in the form of small pellets. In a manufacturing process called injection molding, this pellet material is heated until they melt and become a very thick liquid. The melted 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 create a finished product , all in just a minute or so.

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