Thermoplastic · Polycarbonate
ExpertPolycarbonate
Makrolon · Lexan
Among the strongest printable plastics: extreme toughness and 110°C+ heat tolerance — for printers with 280°C+ hotends and enclosures.
Print temperatures
Nozzle 270–310 °C Bed 100–120 °C
PC is the tough, transparent engineering plastic of bulletproof glass and riot shields — exceptional impact strength and heat resistance. Its dual 1953 discovery is one of polymer history's famous near-ties: Schnell at Bayer and Fox at GE, about a week apart.
In FDM it's a high-temperature, high-strength material that's hard to print: very high temps, an enclosure, and dry filament are essential, and it warps strongly.
Strengths & trade-offs
- Outstanding impact strength (near-unbreakable)
- High heat resistance (~110–130 °C+)
- Optically clear grades
- Strong and rigid
- Flame-retardant grades exist
- Warps badly — enclosure + high bed essential
- Very hygroscopic — must dry
- Very high print temps (all-metal hotend)
- Yellows under prolonged UV
- Demanding bed adhesion
Best for
Impact-resistant partsMachine guardsHigh-heat functional partsTransparent durable enclosuresLighting
Did you know
- Two chemists on different continents invented polycarbonate within about a week of each other in 1953; Bayer got the patent by a hair.
- PC is the plastic in “bulletproof” glass, safety helmets, and riot shields.
