Lexan Polycarbonate Flat Sheet are clear and tough

Polycarbonate materials have a great blend of helpful features including high temperature resistance, impact resistance and optical properties position polycarbonates in between commodity plastic materials and engineering materials.
Polycarbonate is definitely a rugged material. Although it features increased impact-resistance, it has minimal scratch-resistance and so a hard coating is often applied to polycarbonate eye wear as well as polycarbonate exterior automobile components. The properties relating to polycarbonate are generally like those of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA, acrylic), but 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 of approximately 150 °C (302 °F), therefore it softens slowly above this point and flows above about 300°C (572 °F). Tools must be held at warm to high temperatures, generally above 80 °C (176 °F) to produce strain- and stress-free products.
Unlike most other thermoplastics, polycarbonate can undergo dramatic deformations without cracking or breaking. Due to this fact, it can be processed and formed   without needing to be heated using standard sheet metal techniques, which include forming bends on a brake. For even sharp angle bends with a tight radius, no heating is usually necessary. This makes it valuable in prototyping applications where transparent or electrically non-conductive parts are crucial, which can not be produced from sheet metal. Please keep in mind PMMA/Plexiglas, that is similar in looks to polycarbonate, but it is brittle and cannot be bent without heating.
Polycarbonate is often used in eye protection, and also in other projectile-resistant see through or lighting applications that would normally require the use of glass, but require much higher impact-resistance. Many different types of lenses are produced from polycarbonate, including automotive headlamp lenses, lighting lenses, sunglass/eyeglass lenses, swimming and SCUBA goggles, and safety glasses for use in sporting helmets/masks and police riot gear. Windscreens in small motorized vehicles are normally made up of polycarbonate, such as for motorcycles, ATVs, golf carts, and small planes and helicopters.

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