What is honeycomb polycarbonate and how important is it for natural lighting? Its manufacturing process and technology provides special characteristics that make it a more suitable material than corrugated glass, fiberglass or acrylic.
The polycarbonate
Polycarbonate (not just honeycomb polycarbonate) is a material used in industry and civil engineering for several different applications. It is a transparent polymer, manufactured from derivatives of carbonic acid and bis-phenol.
It has characteristics and applications similar to those of glass and acrylic, two other very common materials in construction. However,polycarbonate is more resistant, has greater durability, offers greater safety(it is self-extinguishing against flames)and flexibility.
In the polycarbonate manufacturing process, the extrusion technique is used – a mechanical process where the material is forced through a matrix, acquiring a specific shape. Generally, co-extruded layers are also included on one or both sides of the part. These layers are added to increase protection against ultraviolet rays, and are present in special polycarbonate sheets.
In addition to civil construction, polycarbonate is also used in the automobile industry, medicine, equipment manufacturing and various industries.
Due to its light transmission characteristics, it is widely used in natural lighting projects, in its most diverse variations such asprismatic polycarbonate, in addition to honeycomb polycarbonate.
Find out more: Prismatic Polycarbonate in natural lighting.
Applications of polycarbonate
Polycarbonate intended for architectural applications is calledarchitectural polycarbonate. Despite the name focusing on architecture, the applications are wide and the variety of extruded shapes and sheets available on the market can be used in the most diverse industrial areas.
Extruded sheets are mainly found in thicknesses between 1mm and 12mm. In general, they are transparent, but they can be colored and/or opaque, with varying sizes, up to 2m by 6m, with several options.
Some typical applications of polycarbonate are:
- Industrial ceiling lighting;
- Greenhouse, warehouses, shopping centers;
- Dividers;
- Domus manufacturing;
- Construction of walkways;
- Construction of skylights;
- Bus shelters and curved or flat roofs where natural light transmission is desired.
To best meet the different needs of customers, Grupo MB chooses to offer in its products –domus, lanterns, industrial shutters andpolycarbonate roofing– various types, shapes and sizes of polycarbonate.
Handling and Installation of polycarbonate sheets
One of the great advantages of polycarbonate is its flexibility and ease of handling for manufacturing other more complex parts. Shop instruments can be used to work the material, which can be sawed, cut and drilled using standard industry procedures.
Generally, the faces of the sheets are polished using a light abrasive. This procedure is carried out more carefully with long-life materials and an additional anti-UV coating.
There are several types of polycarbonate: honeycomb, prismatic and compact, for example. All of them have prominent applications in natural lighting equipment. Alveolar polycarbonate has unique characteristics, and we are going to detail this material a little more, used in several MB Group equipment.
Honeycomb polycarbonate and natural lighting
The clerestory, domus, industrial shutters and coverings with alveolar polycarbonate, also calledTwall, combine thermal and translucency characteristics that are far superior to other types of materials. From the point of view of natural lighting projects, the use of this material helps to maximize lighting effects, thermal comfort and energy efficiency.
Alveolar polycarbonate or Twall has hollow cavities (alveoli), which can be single or double. These cavitiesconsiderably reduce their weight and the amount of material used in the manufacture of sheets.
Thanks to this technology, the sheets are cheaper than Compact polycarbonate while maintaining the good characteristics of polycarbonate resin.It is similar to corrugated glass, but has much higher performance and resistance.. Compared to acrylic, honeycomb polycarbonate is better in practically everything: Resistance, heat and light transmission, weight, and does not yellow over time.
What determines the quality of a lanternin orindustrial shutter, for example, is a set of characteristics, the main ones being:light transmission, mechanical resistance, safety against fire and UV rays and durability.
To learn more, we compare these materials in the articleIndustrial Venetian – the mistake of choosing solely based on price.
In the case of alveolar polycarbonate, despite combining all these characteristics, it stillIt is light and easy to handle and install. Let's check out the features in more detail.
Characteristics of honeycomb polycarbonate
Focusing on energy efficiency, sustainability and safety in natural lighting systems, the most important characteristics of honeycomb polycarbonate are the following:
- Environmental Heat Reduction: Reflective honeycomb polycarbonate reduces the ambient temperature by between 7º and 9ºC, depending on the extent of the reflective layer.
- Impact resistance:About 250 times stronger than glass.
- Temperature resistance:from -40ºC to 120ºC at continuous temperatures.
- Weight: It is about 80% lighter than glass.
- Ultra-violet rays: Receives special treatment against the spread of UV rays.
- Fire protection: It is self-extinguishing and does not spread flames.
- Great light transmission: The light transmission index is practically identical to that of glass. It does not change the characteristics up to a temperature of 120º.
In addition to all these unique characteristics, MB Group's honeycomb polycarbonate equipment is made in accordance with reference technical standards, with emphasis on:
- ANSI Z.97.1 – 2009 Impact rating – Class A;
- Hail Impact Resistance (FM 4431) Class 4 severe rating;
- IBC 2006 Rating for horizontal burn rate ASTM D635-10 – CC1;
- IBC 2012 Self Ignition Greater than 650ºF ASTM D1929-13a;
- UL 792: Burglary resistant file.
Compliance with these regulatory aspects adds a differentiator to MB Group's honeycomb polycarbonate that makes itunique in the natural lighting market. To learn more about all the technical characteristics of these products, download our complete catalog of natural lighting and natural ventilation solutions for industry.
Due to all these qualities, Grupo MB decided to use cellular polycarbonate in its products. Our domus, lanterns, industrial shutters and canopies are available inmodels made in this material, taking advantage of the best of all its characteristics and optimizing the benefits of natural lighting.
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