When you need to protect your eyesight on the job, reliability and versatility are key. You want to protect your eyes from potential debris impact but also from environmental hazards like UV radiation. You also want eyewear that lasts, that’s not prone to shattering, cracking, or snapping. Many safety goggles and glasses use polycarbonate lenses that not only meet all of these requirements, but also can be made to prescription needs.

What is Polycarbonate?

Polycarbonate (PC), first developed in 1953, is a transparent thermoplastic polymer known for its high strength. Its versatility in manufacturing makes it a popular material and its transparency makes it a common substitute for glass.

Why Choose Polycarbonate for Your Safety Glasses?

1. Durability

Safety glasses require consistent, long-lasting durability to function well as eye protection. Polycarbonate is virtually unbreakable. However, you will want to invest in a pair with anti-scratch coating; as durable as the material is, it’s not fully resistant to surface wear.

2. Impact Resistance

With an impact resistance of up to 250 times glass, PC is an excellent material for safety eyewear. It’s used in a diverse range of products for its strength, including windows, camera lenses, and even bulletproof glass.

3. Lightweight & Thin

PC is naturally much lighter than glass, which makes it a popular glass alternative for items like safety glasses. It also remains strong when thin, ideal for thicker prescriptions on safety eyewear.

4. Flexibility

The combination of malleability and strength exhibited by PC allows it to be molded into complex designs such as highly contoured safety glasses with less fragility.

5. Transparency

Clear polycarbonate has excellent optical properties, including transmitting 90% of light as well as glass and a 1.584 refractive index (a measure of light refraction and image distortion through a medium), just slightly greater than glass.

6. UV Protection

Ultraviolet (UV) rays penetrate eye tissue more easily than even visible light, potentially causing significant eye damage over time. PC lenses can be manufactured to block 100% of UV radiation.

7. Heat Resistance

Thermally stable up to 135°C, polycarbonate has high heat resistance that can be further bolstered with the addition of fire-resistant materials in the mix.

8. Electrical Insulation

PC has good electrical insulation that is not influenced by water or temperature, ensuring consistent protection.

9. Chemical Resistance

PC exhibits good chemical resistance against diluted acids, aliphatic hydrocarbons, and alcohols, and moderate resistance to oils and greases. You should be mindful of what materials these lenses are safe to use around, but the range is fairly wide.