Typical ABS
- Lower resin cost for large opaque parts
- Good plating and paint adhesion on textured surfaces
- Lower heat deflection than PC
Material comparison
ABS vs Polycarbonate: Impact, Heat, and Clarity Tradeoffs
Polycarbonate carries impact and heat where ABS would crack or soften. ABS stays economical for opaque housings that never see high temperature.
Material comparison
Impact hero versus economical enclosure resin
Choose polycarbonate when the part sees drops, lenses, or elevated service temperature.
ABS remains the default opaque housing resin when heat and impact stay moderate.
Polycarbonate justifies its cost when the part must survive impact or retain clarity.
Resin choice
Typical versus Typical at a glance
Use this routing before you lock the BOM. NetProto molds both once the resin is specified on the quote.
Typical polycarbonate
- High impact even at cold temperature
- Optical grades available for lenses and light pipes
- Needs careful drying and can be sensitive to stress cracking around inserts
Decision table
Where each resin usually wins
Qualitative tradeoffs for molded parts. Confirm shrink, fill, and tooling details on the material guide.
| Factor | ABS | polycarbonate |
|---|---|---|
| Heat | Moderate HDT | Higher HDT for under hood adjacent parts |
| Impact | Good for indoor drops | Excellent for guards and bezels |
| Optics | Opaque grades only | Clear and diffused grades |
| Processing | Forgiving fill on thick ribs | Watch moisture and gate size for splay |
Before you quote
Send this context with your CAD
The instant quote uses your material choice for fill, gate, and steel assumptions.
Service temperature and sun load
Need for transparent or diffused window
Insert or thread locations near high stress
Flame rating if the part is in an electrical enclosure
Material guides
Full property pages
These library pages carry datasheets, DFM notes, and quote checklists.
ABS
Open the ABS molding guide.
ABSPolycarbonate
Open the Polycarbonate molding guide.
PolycarbonateContinue exploring
Related comparisons
Open a sibling guide or jump to the full material library.
Compare hub
All comparison guides.
Compare hubMaterials library
Deep guides per resin family.
Materials libraryPC vs acrylic
Clarity versus toughness.
PC vs acrylicABS vs PP
Commodity stiffness tradeoff.
ABS vs PPFAQ
Common questions
Is PC always clearer than ABS?
Only PC optical grades are meant for transparency. ABS is molded opaque unless a specialty blend is specified.
Which warps more?
Both warp if ribs and wall thickness are unbalanced. PC can also show stress whitening around tight radii.
Next step
Quote both options with the same CAD
Upload once, switch resin in the quote flow, and compare piece price on the same tool. NetProto manufacturing is ISO 9001 certified.