POLYCARBONATE 3D PRINTING
Polycarbonate — PC — is the toughest filament in the FDM catalogue. It outperforms ABS on stiffness, impact resistance and heat tolerance, and is the right call when a part has to take real mechanical abuse. Bicester3D prints PC for engineering-grade applications: structural brackets, impact housings, high-temperature jigs, and parts that have to survive in harsh environments. PC is process-demanding — it requires high-temperature print and bed, and a fully enclosed printer.
WHEN POLYCARBONATE IS THE RIGHT MATERIAL
- Maximum impact resistance — structural housings, drone frames, safety equipment that has to survive abuse.
- High-temperature service — parts that see 100°C+ continuously, where ABS is at its limit.
- Maximum stiffness under load — jigs, fixtures, structural mounts that can't deform.
WHEN POLYCARBONATE IS THE WRONG MATERIAL
- Cost-sensitive applications — PC runs ~2x ABS. ABS covers most jobs at lower price.
- Quick prototypes — setup overhead doesn't justify it for fit-check work. Use PLA.
- Permanent UV exposure — PC yellows under sun over years. Use ASA for outdoor.
POLYCARBONATE OR ABS?
PC is the toughest filament we run, but it's roughly twice the cost of ABS and harder to print. The decision is whether you actually need its full envelope or if ABS will do.
- ·110–130°C heat tolerance — outperforms ABS
- ·5x higher impact resistance than ABS
- ·Maximum stiffness in the FDM catalogue
- ·~2x cost of ABS, all-metal hotend + enclosed chamber required
- ·95–105°C heat tolerance — covers most under-bonnet jobs
- ·Acetone-smoothable to gloss finish
- ·Lower cost, more forgiving to print
- ·Right call when PC's strength envelope is overkill
Pick the right material for your part
Polycarbonate is the engineering top-end — the right call when nothing else is strong or heat-tolerant enough. If your application is less demanding, browse by use-case for the alternatives.
TECHNICAL DATA
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tensile strength | 65–72 MPa | Highest of the FDM lineup |
| Elongation at break | 4–7% | Less ductile than PETG, more than PLA |
| Heat deflection temp | 110–130°C | Highest in the FDM lineup |
| Impact strength | Excellent | Outperforms ABS by ~5x |
| Print temperature | 270–310°C | All-metal hotend required |
| Bed temperature | 110–120°C | High-temperature heated bed required |
| Density | 1.20 g/cm³ | Similar to PETG |
| UV stability | Moderate | Yellows over years outdoors |
| Transparent option | Yes | Transparent PC available to order |
| Warping tendency | Very high | Enclosed chamber mandatory |
WHAT WE PRINT IN POLYCARBONATE
Representative polycarbonate work from the workshop queue — every project specified PC over a cheaper material for a measurable engineering reason:
- End-of-arm tooling for an Oxfordshire production-line installation — robotic gripper jaws printed in PC, replacing aluminium prototypes during initial line commissioning.
- Machine-guard panels for a workshop CNC upgrade — impact-rated transparent windows replaced with PC-printed frames around polycarbonate sheet.
- Structural drone chassis components — a heavy-lift quad frame using PC for the central plate, surviving multiple hard landings during flight testing.
- Production-line assembly jigs — fixtures holding metal parts under clamp load through 8-hour shifts, where PETG fixtures had crept under the sustained stress.
- Ruggedised handheld instrument housings — drop-tested cases for a portable industrial tester, certified to survive a 1.5m fall onto concrete.
PRICING
Per-part pricing from £12. PC runs ~2x PLA cost due to material price and printer setup. No minimum order, no setup fees.
GET YOUR POLYCARBONATE QUOTE
Upload your STL, STEP, or mesh file to the quote tool. Price returns in seconds. Card, invoice (trade accounts) and bank-transfer payment accepted. Most Polycarbonate orders are dispatched within 2 working days.
POLYCARBONATE FAQ
Three reasons. First, PC filament costs more per kilo than PLA or PETG. Second, PC prints slower — layer adhesion at high temperature requires lower speeds. Third, the heated chamber and high-temp bed run during the entire print, so energy cost is meaningfully higher. The price reflects the actual cost of producing the part, not a luxury margin.
Yes, with care. PC's shrinkage during cooling is the main printing challenge — we mitigate it with a heated chamber, high-temperature bed, large brims on flat parts, and orientation choices that minimise stress. Tall, thin parts and large flat plates are the hardest geometries. We'll flag designs at quote time where warping risk is significant.
PC is meaningfully stronger on every axis: 65 vs 40 MPa tensile, 110–120°C vs 95°C heat deflection, and significantly higher impact resistance. PC is more rigid (lower elongation) but absorbs more energy under impact than ABS. For everyday parts, ABS is enough; for engineering parts under real load or impact, PC is the upgrade.
PC is available in clear, black and white as standard. Coloured PC is less common and may incur a minimum order volume — the additive packages used to colour PC interact with the print process, so we test new colours before committing to production runs.
No. No FDM print is food-safe once printed — layer lines harbour bacteria and the print process is not sanitised. Some PC grades contain BPA, which is an additional concern in food-contact use. For food-contact parts, choose a different manufacturing method.