Polycarbonate is transformed from prills or pellets into the desired shape for its intended application by melting the polycarbonate and forcing it under pressure into a mould or die to give it the desired shape depending on the application. This process is repeated thousands and thousands of times for a given part, such as a cell phone housing. The part is generally then shipped to a manufacturer who assembles the final product.
There are two dominant processes involved in making products from polycarbonate:
- Extrusion:
The polymer melt is continuously pressed through an orifice called a "die", which gives the molten polymer its final shape. After passing through the die the melt cools rapidly and solidifies hence maintaining the given shape. This process makes it possible to create infinitely long pipes, profiles or sheets.
- Injection moulding:
The hot polymer melt is pressed into a mould. The mould is then cooled, and the hot polymer solidifies taking on all the characteristics of the mould. This process is used to make single end products, such as housings, plates, bottles and many other applications
Superior processability combined with excellent mechanical and physical properties makes polycarbonate an outstanding engineering plastic, and the material of choice for many high quality, durable applications. This combination of characteristics also allows designers broad design freedom.