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- 10-20% more costly than acrylic
- Highly impact resistant
- High clarity
- Continuous service temperature to 225°F
- Better chemical resistance; good for alcohols
- Available as a USP Class VI material
- Gray or purple tint typical
- Scratches easily
Polycarbonate has many possible configurations as a multi-layer laminated manifold with .020 or smaller channels (depending on the application). From a design standpoint, many discourage using square channels within manifolds here. Polycarbonate manifolds should have either D-shaped or full round channels for optimal flow. Channel spacing as close as 1x nearest feature size is possible. What's more, we can place flat bottom ½-28 ports or similar can on the bond line with surface finishes for valve mounting can hold as low as 20 µin.
When bonded, engineers can expect a very clear polycarbonate manifold (with a light gray or purplish tint, if using tinted stock). For frequent assembly and disassembly of pumps or valves, consider heat-staked threaded inserts over direct machined threads or helicoils. This is becuase polycarbonate is stress sensitive to long-term loading in stress risers. The pullout strength and low stress on other adjoining components make inserts a best-practice choice for polycarbonate manifold design.