Products & Services
Protocase manufactures fully finished custom electronic enclosures and associated parts from a wide variety of materials and components, in 2-3 days with no minimum order. Protocase also provides expert and affordable enclosure design services.
Translucent Plastics
At Protocase, we stock translucent plastics for your projects.
Acrylic and polycarbonates are lightweight, high impact materials with excellent transparency and superior weatherability.
Both acrylic and polycarbonate offer properties similar to glass such as clarity, brilliance and translucence, but are lighter and has better impact resistance.
These plastics are often used to showcase an enclosure’s inner electronics and display lighting.
Acrylic Examples:
Comparing Acrylic and Polycarbonate
| Impact-Modified Acrylic | Polycarbonate | |
|---|---|---|
| Impact Resistance | 5-10x stronger than standard acrylic; handles moderate impact | Up to 250x stronger than glass; extreme impact resistance |
| Clarity | Excellent optical clarity; does not yellow | Good clarity; may yellow without UV treatment |
| Scratch Resistance | More scratch-resistant than polycarbonate | Prone to scratches |
| UR and Weather Resistance | Naturally UV resistance (ideal for outdoor use) | Would require UV treatment for outdoor use, to prevent yellowing |
| Durability and Strength | Strong. Less durable than polycarbonate | Extremely durable and very flexible under stress |
| Weight | Lighter than polycarbonate | Slightly heavier than acrylic but still lightweight |
| Cost | More costly option compared to polycarbonate | More cost-effective than high-impact acrylic |
Finish:
Unfinished
Fasteners:
Typically, we not install any fasteners into acrylic or polycarbonate. Instead, we commonly install self-clinching nuts or studs into the mating metal parts to screw into.
Stocked Sheets for Polycarbonate
| Type | Thickness | Thickness Tolerance |
|---|---|---|
| Plastics - Polycarbonate | .118" | .012 |
| Plastics - Polycarbonate | .236" | .024 |
| Plastics - Polycarbonate | .06" | .006 |
Stocked Sheets for Acrylic
| Type | Thickness | ASM Standard Thickness Tolerance |
|---|---|---|
| 0.080" | ±0.008" | |
| 0.118" | ±0.0118" | |
| .177" | ±0.0177" |
Please note: Our suppliers have provided the material data above, with the nominal thicknesses based on industry standards.