Polycarbonate Plate, Conductive

Conductive polycarbonate carries a carbon loading that takes surface resistivity below 10^5 ohms per square, the threshold the ESD classifications use to separate conductive from merely dissipative material. Conductive compounds typically fall between 10^3 and 10^5 ohms per square. It is used where charge has to be carried away actively rather than allowed to bleed off - grounded fixtures and tooling, carriers and handling hardware in electronics manufacturing.

We would rather tell you what is not published than quote a number nobody measured. No supplier publishes a stock-shape property table for a polycarbonate compound in the conductive band below 10^5 ohms per square. The polycarbonate ESD stock shapes that do publish data are dissipative rather than conductive, at 10^5 to 10^10 and 10^7 to 10^10 ohms per square, and the carbon-fibre polycarbonate compounds that would reach the conductive band exist as injection-moulding resins with gated data rather than as stock shapes. So this listing carries no resistivity value, no density and no mechanical figures. What is safe to say is that the material is opaque black, that a carbon loading is heavier than unfilled polycarbonate, and that its notched impact strength will be in the filled-grade range of around 2 ft-lb/in rather than the 12 to 18 of unfilled stock.

Tell us the resistivity window your specification calls for and we will get the supplier's certificate for the actual lot before you commit. Shipping weight on this item is estimated at the unfilled density, so confirm it with us on a large order.

Chemical compatibility and cleaning, which is where most polycarbonate failures start. Clean it with mild diluted dish soap and a soft microfibre cloth, or an ammonia-free glass cleaner. Do NOT use ammoniated glass cleaner - the common blue kind - because ammonia attacks polycarbonate, and the resin maker's own testing shows 0.1% ammonia is enough to do damage in the presence of water. Also avoid abrasive or high-alkaline cleaners, scrapers and squeegees, dry rubbing, and solvent in direct sun. Isopropyl alcohol diluted 50/50 with water handles oil and tar. Acetone, MEK, methylene chloride, chloroform, toluene, xylene and aromatic fuels all attack it, and so do amines and the plasticisers that migrate out of flexible PVC - which is why PVC gasket, tape and cable tie contact is a real failure mode. The important subtlety is that chemical resistance is not a fixed property: stress cracking only develops where the part is in tension, so a cold-bent, over-torqued or tightly framed part will fail with chemicals a compatibility chart calls safe.