Polycarbonate Lenses

Polycarbonate is used in many applications, such as "bullet proof" windows, and in other applications requiring great flexibility and strength. Our Wallet Reading Glasses are made of this material.  This material can be molded in opaque or clear material. As it is in clear form it is an excellent material for optical lens manufacturing.  Most safety glasses lenses are today made from Polycarbonate, or varieties of this material such as Lexan (a General Electric trade mark).

Polycarbonate lenses are strong.  A nail that has been hammered through the lens, would be anchored in the lens. The lens would not be shattered or cracked as you might expect. 

There are other characteristics of Polycarbonate. One might expect a material that is as strong as Polycarbonate to also be very strong in other respects, such as scratch resistance. In fact Polycarbonate gets its strength from being flexible, so that it gives a little when impacted. Consequently Polycarbonate lenses usually need to be coated with a scratch resistant coating, in order to extend their life span.

Traditional hardened safety glass and reading glasses that are still used are only one tenth as impact resistant as a safety glass made from Polycarbonate. Lenses made from hardened glass offer much better scratch resistance, and this is the reason that they are still preferred in some environments.

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