joining polycarb

[suvv]

how do you fold it without it snapping ???is there a trick to it

[haz]

polycarb generally doesn't snap, that sounds like acrylic or perspex if it is doing that.

[Rapidrory]

2mm should just fold and stay where it... if it's more than a 90 degree fold it might crack a little if it's old, but if it's just snapping then it's not polycarb...

[suvv]

i havent tried it yet i was more questioning it as i was not aware you could fold it at 2mm without it breaking

[Rapidrory]

Ah ok... Yeah it should fold just fine, though if it's proving a little tough you can heat it up with a lighter or something to help it. I try and make my chassis from a single folded piece where possible as it's always stronger than trying to join it.. it's often worth making cardboard templates first though to work out the best folds to avoid wasting polycarb..

[Remote-Controlled Dave]

I bought some acrylic recently that was labelled "polycarb" on the site. That snaps. You have to be careful on things like eBay cos they get mislabelled a lot.

[Hogi]

oh we use acrylic in product design at school and it's rubbish! i reckon it would probably shatter on the first hit in s spinner fight!

[suvv]

well it feels the same as my 6mm poly that i bought from direct plastics so im quietly optimistic jsut waiting for the nuts to arrive then i can start working on the ant

[joey_picus]

I bought some acrylic recently that was labelled "polycarb" on the site. That snaps. You have to be careful on things like eBay cos they get mislabelled a lot.

Mildly off topic (sorry!) but I've noticed this a lot with eBay carbon fibre - it seems to more often than not be fibreglass sheet with one layer of carbon fibre on top for aesthetics' sake (especially at 1mm+ thicknesses).
I have largely stopped using polycarbonate too for this reason - as anything other than flat panels it seems to just be too temperamental, especially as time progresses. What I would do is make sure you use a few more nuts and bolts than are needed to spread the load out, as that seems to help when you get big impacts.