Materials / Compare
Plywood vs. Plastic Polycarbonate Compare Plywood vs. Plastic Polycarbonate strength, stiffness, weight and thermal properties.
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Plastic PLA Plastic PETG Plastic ABS Plastic TPU Plastic Nylon Plastic ABS (bulk/injection) Plastic Polycarbonate Plastic POM/Acetal Plastic Nylon PA6 Plastic Nylon PA66 Plastic PEEK Plastic PTFE Plastic UHMWPE Plastic HDPE Plastic Polypropylene Plastic PMMA Rubber Wood Aluminum Aluminum 6061-T6 Aluminum 7075-T6 Aluminum 2024-T351 Aluminum 5052-H32 Aluminum 7050-T7451 Steel Steel AISI 1018 Steel AISI 1045 Steel AISI 4340 Steel A992 Iron Titanium Titanium Ti-6Al-4V Stainless 304 Stainless 316 Stainless 303 Stainless 17-4PH Brass C360 Brass C260 Copper C110 Glass Nickel Inconel 718 Magnesium AZ31B-H24 Zinc Zamak 3 FDM ASA FDM Polycarbonate FDM PAHT-CF FDM HIPS SLA Resin Standard SLA Resin Tough 2000 SLA Resin Elastic 50A SLS PA12 Nylon DMLS AlSi10Mg Aluminum DMLS Ti-6Al-4V ELI Titanium DMLS 316L Stainless Steel DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel Concrete Brick Plywood Drywall Plywood Natural Plastic PLA Plastic PETG Plastic ABS Plastic TPU Plastic Nylon Plastic ABS (bulk/injection) Plastic Polycarbonate Plastic POM/Acetal Plastic Nylon PA6 Plastic Nylon PA66 Plastic PEEK Plastic PTFE Plastic UHMWPE Plastic HDPE Plastic Polypropylene Plastic PMMA Rubber Wood Aluminum Aluminum 6061-T6 Aluminum 7075-T6 Aluminum 2024-T351 Aluminum 5052-H32 Aluminum 7050-T7451 Steel Steel AISI 1018 Steel AISI 1045 Steel AISI 4340 Steel A992 Iron Titanium Titanium Ti-6Al-4V Stainless 304 Stainless 316 Stainless 303 Stainless 17-4PH Brass C360 Brass C260 Copper C110 Glass Nickel Inconel 718 Magnesium AZ31B-H24 Zinc Zamak 3 FDM ASA FDM Polycarbonate FDM PAHT-CF FDM HIPS SLA Resin Standard SLA Resin Tough 2000 SLA Resin Elastic 50A SLS PA12 Nylon DMLS AlSi10Mg Aluminum DMLS Ti-6Al-4V ELI Titanium DMLS 316L Stainless Steel DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel Concrete Brick Plywood Drywall Plastic Polycarbonate Bulk polymer (molded or machined) 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 not given (tensile used) 65 MPa source typical, tensile yield Ultimate tensile strength 41.4 MPa source modulus of rupture (no direct tensile value) 65 MPa source typical, stress at break Flexural strength 41.4 MPa source static bending MOR (Douglas-fir); range 33.72-42.61 across species 97 MPa source typical, flexural strength Elongation at break not sourced 125 % source typical, strain at break Young's modulus (stiffness) 7.45 GPa source static bending MOE of the panel (Douglas-fir); range 6.96-8.55 across species 2.4 GPa source typical Density not sourced 1,200 kg/m³ source typical Strength to weight not sourced 54.2 kN·m/kg Stiffness to weight not sourced 2 MN·m/kg Poisson's ratio not sourced 0.38 source typical, polycarbonate family (Covestro Part and Mold Design guide, Table 3-1) Shear modulus not sourced 0.87 GPa Bulk modulus not sourced 3.33 GPa Speed of sound not sourced 1,414 m/s Thermal Thermal conductivity 0.12 W/m·K source APA-recommended design value (Douglas-fir plywood), as reported by FPL/ORNL 0.2 W/m·K source typical, through-plane, 23 C Thermal expansion 3.1–4.5 µm/m·K source base material: solid wood parallel to grain, ovendry, range across species 65 µm/m·K source typical, 23-55 C, parallel and normal 100 mm part over a 50 °C swing 19 µm growth 17.1x less 325 µm growth Specific heat 1,700 J/kg·K source base material: solid wood (all species), 12% MC, 27 C 1,172 J/kg·K source typical (guide value), Bayer ASTM datasheet for Makrolon 2405, ASTM D 2766 Heats up and cools (diffusivity) not sourced 0.142 mm²/s Thermal shock resistance not sourced 51.7 W/m Glass transition not sourced 144 °C source typical, DSC 10 C/min Max service temperature not sourced 125 °C source UL 746B RTI, tensile strength, 1.5 mm Values for 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) Covestro Makrolon 2405 general-purpose PC (MVR 19), Covestro technical datasheet version 2026-09-28, typical values
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 Plywood stronger than Plastic Polycarbonate? Plastic Polycarbonate is stronger: its yield strength is 65 MPa against tensile strength 41.4 MPa for Plywood (1.57x).
Which is stiffer, Plywood or Plastic Polycarbonate? 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, Plywood or Plastic Polycarbonate? 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.
Among 59 materials 1k 10k 0.1 1 10 100 Density (kg/m³) Young's modulus (GPa) Plastic PLA Plastic PETG Plastic ABS Plastic TPU Plastic Nylon Aluminum Steel Iron Titanium Steel AISI 1018 Stainless 304 Stainless 316 Aluminum 6061-T6 Aluminum 7075-T6 Brass C360 Copper C110 Glass Steel AISI 1045 Steel AISI 4340 Steel A992 Stainless 303 Stainless 17-4PH Aluminum 2024-T351 Aluminum 5052-H32 Aluminum 7050-T7451 Titanium Ti-6Al-4V Brass C260 Nickel Inconel 718 Magnesium AZ31B-H24 Zinc Zamak 3 Plastic ABS (bulk/injection) Plastic POM/Acetal Plastic Nylon PA6 Plastic Nylon PA66 Plastic PEEK Plastic UHMWPE Plastic HDPE Plastic Polypropylene Plastic PMMA FDM ASA FDM Polycarbonate FDM PAHT-CF FDM HIPS SLA Resin Tough 2000 SLS PA12 Nylon DMLS AlSi10Mg Aluminum DMLS Ti-6Al-4V ELI Titanium DMLS 316L Stainless Steel DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel Plastic Polycarbonate Stiffness against density 1k 10k 10 100 1k Density (kg/m³) Yield strength (MPa) Plastic PLA Plastic PETG Plastic ABS Plastic TPU Plastic Nylon Rubber Aluminum Steel Iron Titanium Steel AISI 1018 Stainless 304 Stainless 316 Aluminum 6061-T6 Aluminum 7075-T6 Brass C360 Copper C110 Glass Steel AISI 1045 Steel AISI 4340 Steel A992 Stainless 303 Stainless 17-4PH Aluminum 2024-T351 Aluminum 5052-H32 Aluminum 7050-T7451 Titanium Ti-6Al-4V Brass C260 Nickel Inconel 718 Magnesium AZ31B-H24 Zinc Zamak 3 Plastic ABS (bulk/injection) Plastic POM/Acetal Plastic Nylon PA6 Plastic Nylon PA66 Plastic PEEK Plastic PTFE Plastic UHMWPE Plastic HDPE Plastic Polypropylene Plastic PMMA FDM ASA FDM Polycarbonate FDM PAHT-CF FDM HIPS SLA Resin Tough 2000 SLA Resin Elastic 50A SLS PA12 Nylon DMLS AlSi10Mg Aluminum DMLS Ti-6Al-4V ELI Titanium DMLS 316L Stainless Steel DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel Brick Plastic Polycarbonate Strength against density