Case study
Makrolon® polycarbonate enables safety eyewear
NoIR InSight, a leader in laser safety eyewear since 1996, uses Covestro's Makrolon® LQ3187 polycarbonate for its LaserShield® lenses. The result: eyewear combining ballistic and ANSI Z87+ impact rating, ANSI Z136.1 and EN207/EN208 certified laser protection, and exceptional optical clarity for law enforcement and beyond.
Law enforcement officers increasingly encounter hand-held laser threats during operations, requiring protective eyewear that doesn't compromise visibility or safety. NoIR InSight needed LaserShield® filters molded with heat-sensitive, narrow absorption peak absorbers that deliver a tight performance balance between protection against laser energy and clear visibility of the environment.
At NoIR, we've always believed that protection and performance should go hand in hand. Covestro's materials help us deliver eyewear that meets the highest standards.
This demanding application marries two difficult material requirements: the toughness of the end-product and the ability to mold within very narrow processing windows required for absorbers that provide narrow-band light-filtering. Finding a material combining optical precision, impact resistance, and compatibility with sensitive, highly purified additives in a single solution had been problematic for over a decade.
Makrolon® LQ3187 was selected for its compatibility with highly purified absorbers, superior toughness in high-impact scenarios, and excellent optical performance. Its injection molding processing window supports complex, additive-rich formulations needed for light-filtering. Covestro's material and technical expertise enabled NoIR to overcome longstanding manufacturing challenges—The Material Effect in action.
Key benefits
- Durable & clear: Excellent clarity and transparency, ideal for lenses where visibility is critical.
- UV stabilized: UV 400 cut-off protection shielding eyes from harmful ultraviolet rays.
- Impact-resistant: Outstanding toughness meeting ballistic and ANSI Z87+ impact standards.
- Moldable: Injection molding with easy release supporting additive-rich formulations.
- Laser-certified: Enables ANSI Z136.1 and EN207/EN208 certified laser protection.
FAQs
Why is polycarbonate used for laser protective lenses instead of glass?
Polycarbonate offers significantly higher impact resistance than glass, making it the material of choice for applications requiring both laser protection and ballistic-rated safety. It is also lighter weight, easier to mold into complex lens geometries, and compatible with heat-sensitive laser-absorbing additives that require narrow processing windows during injection molding. This combination of safety, weight, and processability makes polycarbonate superior to glass for protective laser eyewear.
What industries use polycarbonate laser safety eyewear?
Polycarbonate laser safety eyewear serves law enforcement (protection from hand-held laser threats), medical and surgical settings (hair removal, tattoo removal, vascular and surgical lasers), scientific research (ultra-short pulsed laser applications), industrial manufacturing (laser cutting, welding, and marking), and military/defense operations. Each application requires specific laser wavelength filtering balanced with high visibility and impact protection.
What makes Makrolon® LQ3187 suitable for laser safety lens manufacturing?
Makrolon® LQ3187 is a high-performance polycarbonate offering excellent optical clarity and transparency, UV 400 cut-off protection, outstanding impact strength meeting ballistic standards, and a processing window designed for injection molding with complex, additive-rich formulations. Its compatibility with highly purified, heat-sensitive narrow-band absorbers makes it possible to achieve precise laser filtering without compromising lens toughness or clarity.
Do laser safety glasses reduce visibility?
Not when engineered correctly. A common misconception is that laser protection requires heavy tinting that impairs vision. Modern polycarbonate laser safety lenses use narrow-band absorbers that filter only specific harmful wavelengths while transmitting the rest of the visible spectrum with high clarity. Makrolon® LQ3187 from Covestro is specifically designed for optical transparency, enabling NoIR InSight's LaserShield® eyewear to deliver certified laser protection without compromising the wearer's ability to see clearly—critical for law enforcement officers and medical professionals operating in dynamic environments.
