Impact resistance
Supports protective housings and guards where brittle failure is a concern.
Plastic material
Polycarbonate Manufacturing and Custom Parts
A tough engineering plastic used for durable housings, guards, lenses, and transparent windows.
- Impact resistant
- Transparent grades available
- Dimensionally stable
Material overview
Tough molded geometry with transparent and opaque grade options.
Polycarbonate is considered for protective windows, lens housings, instrument covers, and durable enclosures where impact performance or transparency is important. It can also be blended with ABS when the project needs a different balance of processability and product behavior.
Clear PC is especially sensitive to flow marks, stress, gate placement, surface finish, and contamination. Optical expectations should be separated from ordinary transparent appearance and supported by agreed samples and inspection criteria.
Key properties
Performance characteristics translated into manufacturing decisions.
Transparency options
Clear and tinted grades are available, but optical quality depends on resin, mold, geometry, and processing.
Dimensional behavior
Can hold functional enclosure geometry when moisture control, wall transitions, and packing are managed.
Assembly versatility
Compatible with screws, inserts, clips, seals, and overmolded features after interface review.
Suitable processes
Manufacturing routes for this material.
Compatible Surface Finishes
Surface options reviewed with the base material.
Typical applications
Common PC part families.
Protective windows
Lens and sensor housings
Medical device covers
Durable electronic enclosures
Transparent inspection covers
Overmolded cable interfaces
Design considerations
Control the features that affect function and process stability.
G 01
Keep clear faces away from gates and ejector marks where possible.
G 02
Define whether the requirement is transparent, cosmetic clear, or optical.
G 03
Use smooth wall transitions and review screw-boss stress.
G 04
Validate chemical contact, cleaning agents, and adhesive compatibility.
Limitations
Requirements that need engineering review.
- Residual molding stress can contribute to cracking during assembly or chemical exposure.
- Clear parts reveal gates, weld lines, flow marks, and surface defects more readily.
- Scratch resistance may need a coating or product-level protection strategy.
- Thick transitions can create sink, bubbles, or long cooling cycles.
RFQ checklist
Material details to include in the quotation package.
Clear requirements help engineering, finishing, inspection, and purchasing review the same target.
- 01State clear, tinted, opaque, UV-stabilized, or documented compliance needs.
- 02Resin drying and handling requirements should follow the selected supplier grade.
- 03Optical or cosmetic acceptance must use drawings, approved samples, or measurable criteria.
Related parts
Representative geometry from the parts gallery.
The gallery includes PC and PC-blend examples. Exact transparency, blend, and grade claims require the project's resin specification.
Related materials
Compare adjacent material options before freezing the drawing.
FAQ
PC questions from engineering and sourcing teams.
Can polycarbonate parts be molded transparent?
Yes, with an appropriate clear grade and a mold, gate, venting, drying, and process plan designed for the required appearance. Optical quality should not be assumed from transparency alone.
Can PC be overmolded with a soft material?
Potentially. Adhesion depends on the exact PC grade, elastomer chemistry, interface geometry, surface condition, and molding sequence. Material-pair testing is recommended.
Why do clear PC parts need stricter cosmetic criteria?
Transparent parts expose flow, weld, gate, polishing, contamination, and stress effects that may be hidden on opaque parts. Controlled samples help align acceptance expectations.
Start your RFQ
Upload your drawings and receive an engineer-reviewed quotation.
Share the material, process, quantity, finish, critical requirements, and delivery needs. contact@kewei-kw.com / +86-13929495765