Is polycarbonate strong enough for a vandal resistant dome?
It is the usual choice. Polycarbonate takes heavy impact without shattering. The dome's shape, section, and the grade chosen decide how much abuse it survives in testing.
Industry
Injection Molding for Security Hardware
Most plastic parts only have to survive weather and wear. Security hardware also has to survive someone trying to break it, pry it off the wall, or blind the camera behind it.
Outdoor camera
What an outdoor camera housing has to survive
Five threats, each answered by a different design decision.
- 1
A hit with a bat or a rock
Domes and fronts are polycarbonate, since it takes impact that would shatter acrylic or glass. A tougher grade and a thicker dome do more than any coating.
- 2
Someone prying it off
Fasteners sit where a screwdriver cannot reach once the unit is mounted, and seams are designed with no gap to lever against.
- 3
Years of sun and rain
UV stabilized resins keep domes clear and housings from chalking. The lid seal and cable entry are where water gets in.
- 4
Night vision
Infrared illuminators need a window that passes infrared, and a barrier so that light does not bounce back into the lens.
- 5
Cut cables
Cable entries run through the mount into the wall, so there is nothing exposed to cut.
Windows
Clear domes and dark windows
Some windows must be perfectly clear. Others look black but pass infrared.
- Camera domes are molded in optical grade polycarbonate with polished steel, and any flow mark in the view blurs the image
- Infrared windows use dyes that block visible light but pass infrared, so motion sensors and readers look solid black from outside
- Hard coats are often applied to domes after molding to resist scratches from cleaning
- The window is sealed to the housing by an overmolded gasket, adhesive, or a separate seal
Readers and locks
Plastic inside the lock
The strength of a lock is in its metal. Plastic does most of the rest.
Access control readers and keypads are mostly plastic: a housing, a window for the card antenna, and keys that have to keep their legends through years of fingers. The card antenna sits behind plastic for the same reason a phone antenna does, since metal would block it.
Inside mechanical and electronic locks, molded parts carry the smaller loads: cams, gears in motorized bolts, battery covers, and escutcheons. Acetal and nylon handle the moving parts. Anything that takes a direct attack stays metal, and where metal meets plastic it is often molded in.
RFQ notes
What to tell us about a security product
These change the resin, the tool, or the finishing.
Indoor or outdoor, and how much direct sun
Which faces a person could strike or pry
Any clear or infrared window and what sits behind it
Where metal parts are molded in or pressed in afterward
Color and texture, since housings usually match an existing product line
FAQ
Questions from security hardware teams
Can tamper resistant screw features be molded in?
The screw pockets, recesses, and hidden fastener paths can all be molded. The special screws themselves are bought parts.
Can one housing serve indoor and outdoor models?
Sometimes, with the same tool running a UV stabilized resin for outdoor units. Differences like extra seals or a heater mount usually go into inserts that switch in the mold.
Can keypad legends be made to last?
Laser marking and two shot keys hold up far longer than printed legends. Pad printing with a protective coat works for lower wear keys.
Keep reading
Related guides
Housings, windows, and keys, plus the resins that survive abuse.
Sensor housings
Windows, seals, and mounts.
Sensor housingsKeypads
Keys that keep their legends.
KeypadsPolycarbonate
Impact resistance for domes.
PolycarbonateMounting brackets
Holding units to walls and poles.
Mounting bracketsTwo shot molding
Keys and windows in two materials.
Two shot moldingLaser marking
Legends that do not wear away.
Laser markingIndustries hub
Every sector page in one index.
Industries hubNext step
Show us how someone would attack it
Upload CAD with the exposed faces, window locations, and outdoor exposure marked. DFM checks seams, fastener access, and window sealing first. NetProto manufacturing is ISO 9001 certified.