Materials / Compare
Plastic Polycarbonate vs. Wood
Compare Plastic Polycarbonate vs. Wood strength, stiffness, weight and thermal properties.
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|---|---|---|
| Mechanical | ||
| Yield strength | 65MPasourcetypical, tensile yield | not given (tensile used) |
| Ultimate tensile strength | 65MPasourcetypical, stress at break | 99MPasourcemodulus of rupture (no direct tensile value) |
| Compressive strength | not sourced | 46.6MPasourcecompression parallel to grain (maximum crushing strength), 12% MC |
| Flexural strength | 97MPasourcetypical, flexural strength | 99MPasourcemodulus of rupture (static bending), 12% MC |
| Elongation at break | 125%sourcetypical, strain at break | not sourced |
| Young's modulus (stiffness) | 2.4GPasourcetypical | 12.5GPasourcebending MOE, parallel to grain |
| 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) | 0.35sourcemu_LR (red oak group, ~12% MC) |
| Shear modulus | 0.87GPa | 4.63GPa5.32x stiffer in shear |
| Bulk modulus | 3.33GPa | 13.9GPa |
| Speed of sound | 1,414m/s | not sourced |
| Thermal | ||
| Thermal conductivity | 0.2W/m·Ksourcetypical, through-plane, 23 C | 0.18W/m·Ksourceacross grain, 12% MC (Table 4-7, approximate) |
| Thermal expansion | 65µm/m·Ksourcetypical, 23-55 C, parallel and normal | 3.1–4.5µm/m·Ksourceparallel to grain, ovendry wood, 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·Ksourcesolid wood (all species), 12% MC, 27 C |
| Heats up and cools (diffusivity) | 0.142mm²/s | not sourced |
| Thermal shock resistance | 51.7W/m | 244W/m4.72x more resistant |
| 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 | Northern red oak (Quercus rubra), clear straight-grained specimens at 12% MC, parallel to grain unless stated; USDA FPL Wood Handbook FPL-GTR-282 (2021) Ch. 4 and Ch. 5 |
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 Wood?
Wood is stronger: its tensile strength is 99 MPa against yield strength 65 MPa for Plastic Polycarbonate (1.52x).
Which is stiffer, Plastic Polycarbonate or Wood?
Wood is stiffer: Young's modulus 12.5 GPa against 2.4 GPa for Plastic Polycarbonate, so the same part in Wood deflects less under the same load.
Which conducts heat better, Plastic Polycarbonate or Wood?
Plastic Polycarbonate conducts heat better: 0.2 W/m·K against 0.18 W/m·K for Wood.
Which expands less with temperature?
Wood expands less: 3.8 µm/m·K against 65 µm/m·K for Plastic Polycarbonate.