Polycarbonate .
Two hundred times the impact strength of glass. The toughest clear plastic we work with - guards, glazing, marine windows, skylights.
When acrylic is too brittle .
Polycarbonate is the impact-resistant cousin of acrylic - virtually unbreakable, optically clear, and rated for outdoor and high-stress applications. We work polycarbonate daily for machine guarding, balustrade infill, marine cabin windows, security glazing and any application where glass is too fragile and acrylic is too brittle.
Glass-clear thermoplastic with extremely high impact resistance (200× glass, 30× acrylic). Service temperature -40°C to +120°C. UV-stable grades available for outdoor use. Naturally flame-retardant. Slight optical haze vs acrylic but stronger by every other measure.
Solid polycarbonate sheet for glazing, guarding and high-impact panels. Twin-wall and multi-wall polycarbonate for skylights, atriums, greenhouse glazing and lightweight roofing - strong yet thermal-insulating.
The specs at a glance.
Common applications .
When the spec calls for impact resistance, polycarbonate is the answer. Machine guarding for food and industrial plants. Marine cabin windows. Security glazing for retail and commercial. Skylight domes (thermo-formed) for residential and commercial roofing.
Twin-wall and multi-wall polycarbonate is daily work for builders and roofers - covered porches, atrium glazing, greenhouse panels and lightweight commercial roofing all use it.
- Machine guards and safety screens (food, industrial)
- Marine cabin windows and hatches
- Security glazing for retail and commercial
- Acrylic-alternative balustrade infill
- Skylight domes (thermo-formed)
- Twin-wall greenhouse and atrium glazing
- Helmet visors and PPE components
- Heavy-duty enclosures
From sheet to finished part .
CNC routing with PC-rated tooling, laser cutting for thinner gauge work, line bending with extended dwell time, and thermo forming for skylight domes and impact-rated covers.
Solvent bonding requires specific PC-grade cements - we have them in-house. Standard sheet 2440 × 1220 mm and 3000 × 2000 mm. Tinted, opal and bronze grades by request. Twin-wall in 4, 6, 8, 10 and 16 mm.
Common questions about polycarbonate .
Yes - by a lot. Polycarbonate has roughly 30 times the impact resistance of acrylic and 200 times that of glass. The trade-off: it's slightly more expensive, has a softer surface (scratches more easily) and slightly hazier optical clarity. For impact-rated applications it's the right choice every time.
Standard polycarbonate yellows over a few years of direct UV exposure. UV-stable grades (with a co-extruded UV layer) are rated for outdoor use and resist yellowing for decades - used for skylights, marine windows and outdoor glazing. Always specify UV-stable grade for outdoor jobs.
Yes, but with longer dwell time at higher temperature than acrylic. We thermoform polycarbonate daily for skylight domes, machine covers and impact-rated enclosures. See our thermo forming service.
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