We have great news that we are excited to share! We have recently included a new material to our collections which has now become part of our products: Polycarbonate.
What is polycarbonate? A bit of history
Polycarbonate is a plastic material developed during the early fifties and manufactured industrially by 1959. Its massification was quite slow, it was only by the seventies that its use was widely spread and was appropriated by the design world, which found different applications for its multifaceted properties. One of its most salient characteristics is its crystalline appearance, which added to its impact resistance, low weight, and versatility, make it an ideal material for diverse uses.
Where do we find polycarbonate?
It has a very broad range of uses, we can find it in aerospace applications and visors, as well as in daily use products such as construction sheets for roofing or skylights, food trays, helmets, safety goggles, parts for electrical and electronic devices, car light covers, etc. In medicine, we can find it in neonatal incubators, nebulizers, and surgical devices since this material have the advantage that it can be sterilized. Another very common use for polycarbonate is information storage devices such as CDs and DVDs.
Why are we thinking of polycarbonate?
As we have stated in other blog posts, when in Karün we evaluate the incorporation of new material to our products, it must either respond to a need or solve some negative impact caused.
Apart from the previously described polycarbonate uses, this polymer is a manufacturing material widely used in the optics industry generating much waste, such as the disposable polycarbonate demo lens or crystals used in showrooms, or the scraps and shavings resulting from the cutting of said crystals. Thus, we find incorporating this material into our production process extremely motivating, since it allows us to help mitigate the impact generated by our own industry.
From the dream to reality
Incorporating new materials into our collections is not an easy process; it requires the involvement of different areas of the Karün team to guarantee our brand´s characteristic high quality while ensuring a circular manufacturing process. To that end, we had to undertake an in-depth study of the potential polycarbonate generation sites that would ensure we were dealing with recycled material, that it possessed the required mechanical characteristics, and could also supply the volume needed for our manufacturing.
As is the hallmark of our collaborative value chain, we work establishing partnerships with potential generators of materials that meet our requirements. We currently have alliances for the recovery of material from lens shops in different countries, and if needed, we are considering including a recycled polycarbonate supplier from the automotive industry.
We invite you to discover our polycarbonate products!
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