Is Windshield Acrylic Or Polycarbonate?

[Claviger]

They use US companies for quite a few sub component assemblies, ship it to England, repackage it, and ship it back when we order it..... and people wonder why prices are high lol.

 

[R-III-R Turbo]

All I know is polycarbonate is standard in industry for protective covers windows doors etc on machinery due to its resistance to shatter when hit by a flying part.
Acrylic is used for other plastic parts that are not protecting an operator.

Based on this i'd imagine PC or something similar would be used in windshields.

A lot of plastic components are stamped with letters like PC, PP, PETE, etc, bottom of plastic bottles for example. The windshield might have a mark somewhere

There is a sure-fire way to tell if something is acrylic or polycarb but it's destructive so I'd imagine you won't want to do that!

 

[TriumPhil]

What we need here is a materials specialist.

 

[dougl]

Just called Clearview and they said their shields are high impact acrylic. Cee Bailey are also acrylic and since they make aircraft windshields, they must be pretty tough.

Stock shields? Open question.

P.S. I just called Triumph and they said their windshields are Lexan (polycarbonate).

 

[Claviger]

Just called Clearview and they said their shields are high impact acrylic. Cee Bailey are also acrylic and since they make aircraft windshields, they must be pretty tough.

Stock shields? Open question.

P.S. I just called Triumph and they said their windshields are Lexan (polycarbonate).

The impact safety is why I assume it PC without needing to research, OEMs generally lean towards the side of least liability and the safest transparent plastic widely accepted for windows/screens is PC.

 

[TriumPhil]

One of the best quality aftermarket windscreens I've seen and have also owned is made by a company called Windvest. They also use acrylic, which has nearly 15% better optical quality (less distortion) than PC, so I'd imagine that the "best" quality material between the two we've been discussing comes down to a subjective decision as to which material's attributes better suit one's intended application and then the overall design and build quality of whichever finished product you'll be using that material in or on.

Seems that this is pretty close to the conversation about what really is the primary factor in motive power, i.e., horsepower or torque. Circular conversations, both.

 

[mully95]

The impact safety is why I assume it PC without needing to research, OEMs generally lean towards the side of least liability and the safest transparent plastic widely accepted for windows/screens is PC.

I install the glass and PC on the bulldozers for Caterpillar. The PC is used on the dozers that are intended for forestry use just in case of a impact such as a limb smashing into the cab.

 

[Mark Dunn]

One of my customers used to be General Electric. They have a plant in Alabama that makes Lexan and in the vestibule is a display of Lexan bullet proof windshields. A half inch Lexan sheet can stop a .38 and it doesn't shatter, either.

Regards,
Mark Dunn

 

[RocketFuture]

Thanks Coyote this might be the ticket for me!!! And I do have a some questions if you don't mind?



I've heard of something like this before but don't know anyone that has done it. Have put one of these together? I had heard that you needed to get different cross straps because the width between the forks is different on a HD and R3 does that sound right to you?



Does this include everything that I need or would I still need to get the Triumph Fixing kit to finish it off?



Would this set up fit windshields other than the N2210 do you think? I was looking at ClearView windshields because I could get them higher than stock.



I see the N2210 lists Yamaha 1100 Classic as being a fit as well. I had one of those with a National Cycle Switchblade windshield which I really liked. If the N2210 is a direct fit I wonder if the switchblade might work?



Any help you can give me on these questions would be appreciated and I appreciate the information you already gave me!



Thanks!



Will

 

[TriumPhil]

These two industry-based sites seem to sum up the differences nicely:

Polycarbonate (Lexan) vs Acrylic (Lucite)

FAQ for acrylic, plexiglass, Lucite, clear plastic. From Plexi-Craft