What Are the Different Types of Polycarbonate Sheets?

April 22, 2020 5:59 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

If you work in the world of plastic fabrication or manufacturing, you are probably familiar with polycarbonate as a material. At the very least, you know it is strong, elastic and affordable—three properties that make it highly useful and beneficial for a wide variety of types of fabrication products. What you may not know is that there are many different options with regard to the types of polycarbonate sheets you can use for your product.

Here’s a quick overview of what you should know about the differences between some of these most common types of polycarbonate sheets. Contact a trusted USA polycarbonate sheet supplier in Utah to learn more:

  • Clear polycarbonate: As you know, polycarbonate is highly impact resistant. In fact, it provides up to 250 times greater impact resistance than glass, while also being fantastically resistant to temperature and other forms of damage. This has made clear polycarbonate a very popular choice for skylights, airplane windows, covered walkways and any other circumstance in which you want transparency with a high level of strength. Many clear polycarbonate models feature UV resistance that makes them an ideal use for windows and doors.
  • Colored or tinted polycarbonate: If you’re interested in adding a bit of character or aesthetic appeal to your polycarbonate sheeting, you can use tinted or hued sheets to give you the extra flair you’ve been looking for. You can find some bold colors, or go for a little more subtle tinting with a bronze or gray finish. These can be used for displays, external advertisements, as glass substitutes or for a wide variety of other purposes.
  • Bulletproof polycarbonate: You’ve probably heard of “bulletproof glass,” but really that material isn’t glass at all—it’s a special form of polycarbonate sheeting. There are a number of polycarbonate varieties that are designed to be bulletproof, and they get used widely in industries like law enforcement, banking, security and corrections. Obviously, bulletproof polycarbonate has incredibly high tensile strength and impact resistance.
  • Anti-static polycarbonate: There are some types of scientific and laboratory environments that must remain as static-free as possible, as static electricity could cause some harm to certain experiments and sensitive pieces of equipment. This is why manufacturers design a special form of anti-static polycarbonate, which is coated with a type of plastic-metal mixture that prevents static electricity from generating. This coating also helps to boost its chemical and impact resistance, and makes it less susceptible to humidity in whatever environment it’s installed.
  • Flame-retardant polycarbonate: Polycarbonate is known for its outstanding temperature resistance, but when you expose standard polycarbonate to open flames, it can be a little too much for it to withstand. For this reason, flame-retardant polycarbonate exists to be installed specifically in environments where there is a high risk of fire. This type of sheeting is most commonly used for electrical devices and certain aircraft components, as well as in covers for any item that carries a current.

For more information about some of the other most common types of polycarbonate sheeting, contact the trusted USA polycarbonate sheet suppliers in Utah at D&D Plastics.

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