Tuffak® Polycarbonate Sheet
Lexan®, Makrolon®, and TUFFAK® are all trade names for polycarbonate materials, a family of high-impact performance plastics. While they share the same base material, individual grades from manufacturers like SABIC (Lexan®) and Plaskolite (Tuffak®) differ in specific properties such as UV resistance, impact performance, and clarity. Industrial Plastic Supply advises comparing exact grades and technical specifications rather than relying solely on trade names when selecting polycarbonate for specific applications.
Superior Impact Strength – Excellent Clarity
High Impact Polycarbonate Sheet and Rod
Are Lexan®, Makrolon® and TUFFAK® the Same Material?
Lexan®, Makrolon® and TUFFAK® are trade names associated with polycarbonate materials. The underlying material family is polycarbonate, but individual grades differ in properties such as UV resistance, coatings, impact performance, flame ratings, clarity and fabrication characteristics.
When replacing one brand with another, compare the exact grade and technical specifications rather than relying only on the trade name.
For industrial applications, the correct polycarbonate grade should be selected according to temperature, impact, optical, regulatory and fabrication requirements.
Are Lexan®, Makrolon® and TUFFAK® the Same Material?
How do Lexan®, Makrolon®, and TUFFAK® polycarbonate materials differ, and who are their manufacturers?
When replacing one brand with another, compare the exact grade and technical specifications rather than relying only on the trade name.
For industrial applications, the correct polycarbonate grade should be selected according to temperature, impact, optical, regulatory and fabrication requirements.
Tuffak® Polycarbonate sheet material is used for shields, guards, and containment barriers.
It can be cold or heat bent to most configurations. A popular material manufactured by several companies: Tuffak® by Plaskolite (formerly Makrolon® by Covestro), Lexan® by SABIC, Zelux® by Westlake, MECHETEC® PC (Polycarbonate) by Polymer Industries, Ensicar® by Ensinger, Cyrolon®, Polygal®, Plazit®, Tuffak® GP, Paltuf®, Texin®.
Today, there are numerous versions of these Polycarbonate resins, produced by a dozen different resin manufacturers; however Lexan® and Makrolon® still lead the field.
In addition to the large number of resin manufacturers, there are also dozens of extruders that can produce the Polycarbonate resins into Sheet or rod.
The leaders in producing Polycarbonate into sheet materials are Tuffak Plaskolite (formerly Covestro), SABIC Lexan and Plazit Polygal. All three have extrusion equipment in the USA and produce high clarity and high quality Polycarbonate sheet.
Some of the leaders in the Thick Plate and Rod extrusion are Ensinger Plastics, Westlake Plastics, Roechling Industrial Plastics, Polymer Industries and Gehr Plastics.
Why you should use Polycarbonate Sheet:
Polycarbonate sheet is a common material for a variety of glazing applications, impact resistant shields and formed parts. Polycarbonate Sheet and Rod are generally produced from plastic resin produced by two main plastic resin manufacturers:
1) Plaskolite (formerly Covestro Plastic) produce Tuffak® Polycarbonate sheet (formerly Makrolon®) sheets as well as a full line of Acrylic Sheet and Acrylic Mirror materials.
2) SABIC (Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corporation) Plastic, producing a wide range of plastic resins including: Lexan® Polycarbonate, Cycolac®, ABS, Noryl®- Poly Phenylene Oxide (PPO), Ultem® 1000 and Ultem® 2300 PEI resins.
The general purpose Polycarbonate resins are about the same as they were when they were first invented. The research on this resin started in 1898, but was first perfected by Bayer in Germany and was patented and registered in 1955. Amazingly, one week after the first invention by Bayer, Daniel Fox at General Electric in New York, independently synthesized a branched Polycarbonate resin.
Both companies filed for US Patents in 1955, and agreed that the company lacking priority would be granted a license to the technology. The patent was resolved in Bayer’s favor and Bayer began commercial production under the trade name Makrolon® in 1958.
GE Plastics began production under the Lexan® trade in 1960.
Polycarbonate is ITAR compliant, and Polycarbonate is RoHS compliant.
~ UV Stable and Excellent for high impact and glazing applications
Tuffak® (formerly Makrolon® GP-V) – UL rated General Purpose Polycarbonate Sheet
~ UV Stabilized and UL 94 V-2 at .060” thickness, UL 94 V-0 at .220” thickness
Tuffak® (formerly Makrolon® FI) – UL rated Polycarbonate Sheet (Flame Inhibiting)
~ High flame resistance – UL 94 V-0 at .060” thickness and UL 94 5VA at .118” thickness
~ FAR 25.853 Part 1, a (i) – 60 sec and Part 1, a (ii) – 12 sec – PASS @0.060” – 0.125”
Tuffak® (formerly Makrolon® AR) – Abrasion Resistant Polycarbonate Sheet
~ Added proprietary hard coating for higher abrasion resistance
What are the key products and properties of Plazit Polygal?
Monogal®
~ UV Stable and Excellent for high impact and glazing applications
Monogal-F®
~ High flame resistance – UL 94 V-0 at .080” thickness
~ FAR 25.85 Part 1, a (i) – 60 sec and Part 1, a (ii) – 12 sec – PASS @0.080” – 0.236”
Materials Available As:
Extruded Sheet:
.030″ – .500″ in 48″ X 96″ Clear Masked General Purpose Sheets
Molded Sheet or Plate:
.500″ – 4.0″ Thick Natural (Transparent) and Optical Grade up to 48″ X 96″
Film:
.010″ –.040″ in 24″ X 48″
Rod:
.125″ – 12.0″ Diameter – Natural (Machine Grade – Non Pigmented) in 96″ Lengths.
Black is Available in some sheet and rod sizes as a Standard:
Contact For Details
Tube:
.250″ ID – 4.0″ ID in 96″ Lengths (variety of wall thickness based on diameter)
Special Formulations:
Medical Grade, Conductive, Static Dissipative, Glass Filled, Custom Sizes, Formulations, Profiles or Colors
These properties are for evaluation purposes only. This information is not to be construed as a warranty, guarantee or assurance that you may achieve the same results. Materials made from different resin types, manufacturing techniques and manufacturers will react differently. The information should be used to compare against other materials only, and each user should make his own tests to determine suitability. No warranty as to this materials suitability are either expressed nor implied.