Materials / Compare
Plastic Polycarbonate vs. Plywood
Compare Plastic Polycarbonate vs. Plywood strength, stiffness, weight and thermal properties.
| Try it on a partA sample part to run stress or thermal on, free in your browser | Open in LessCAD | Open in LessCAD |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanical | ||
| Yield strength | 65MPasourcetypical, tensile yield | not given (tensile used) |
| Ultimate tensile strength | 65MPasourcetypical, stress at break | 41.4MPasourcemodulus of rupture (no direct tensile value) |
| Flexural strength | 97MPasourcetypical, flexural strength | 41.4MPasourcestatic bending MOR (Douglas-fir); range 33.72-42.61 across species |
| Elongation at break | 125%sourcetypical, strain at break | not sourced |
| Young's modulus (stiffness) | 2.4GPasourcetypical | 7.45GPasourcestatic bending MOE of the panel (Douglas-fir); range 6.96-8.55 across species |
| Density | 1,200kg/m³sourcetypical | not sourced |
| Strength to weight | 54.2kN·m/kg | not sourced |
| Stiffness to weight | 2MN·m/kg | not sourced |
| Poisson's ratio | 0.38sourcetypical, polycarbonate family (Covestro Part and Mold Design guide, Table 3-1) | not sourced |
| Shear modulus | 0.87GPa | not sourced |
| Bulk modulus | 3.33GPa | not sourced |
| Speed of sound | 1,414m/s | not sourced |
| Thermal | ||
| Thermal conductivity | 0.2W/m·Ksourcetypical, through-plane, 23 C | 0.12W/m·KsourceAPA-recommended design value (Douglas-fir plywood), as reported by FPL/ORNL |
| Thermal expansion | 65µm/m·Ksourcetypical, 23-55 C, parallel and normal | 3.1–4.5µm/m·Ksourcebase material: solid wood parallel to grain, ovendry, range across species |
| 100 mm part over a 50 °C swing | 325µm growth | 19µm growth17.1x less |
| Specific heat | 1,172J/kg·Ksourcetypical (guide value), Bayer ASTM datasheet for Makrolon 2405, ASTM D 2766 | 1,700J/kg·Ksourcebase material: solid wood (all species), 12% MC, 27 C |
| Heats up and cools (diffusivity) | 0.142mm²/s | not sourced |
| Thermal shock resistance | 51.7W/m | not sourced |
| Glass transition | 144°Csourcetypical, DSC 10 C/min | not sourced |
| Max service temperature | 125°CsourceUL 746B RTI, tensile strength, 1.5 mm | not sourced |
| Values for | Covestro Makrolon 2405 general-purpose PC (MVR 19), Covestro technical datasheet version 2026-09-28, typical values | Douglas-fir plywood sheathing (construction plywood per PS 1), static bending properties from USDA FPL Wood Handbook FPL-GTR-282 Ch. 12 Table 12-2 (Biblis 2000) |
Every value links to the document that states it. "Not sourced" means no citable source states it (or only a specification minimum); figures computed from it are left out too.
Questions
Is Plastic Polycarbonate stronger than Plywood?
Plastic Polycarbonate is stronger: its yield strength is 65 MPa against tensile strength 41.4 MPa for Plywood (1.57x).
Which is stiffer, Plastic Polycarbonate or Plywood?
Plywood is stiffer: Young's modulus 7.45 GPa against 2.4 GPa for Plastic Polycarbonate, so the same part in Plywood deflects less under the same load.
Which conducts heat better, Plastic Polycarbonate or Plywood?
Plastic Polycarbonate conducts heat better: 0.2 W/m·K against 0.12 W/m·K for Plywood.
Which expands less with temperature?
Plywood expands less: 3.8 µm/m·K against 65 µm/m·K for Plastic Polycarbonate.