22 ballistic impact eyewear: what exactly is that?

[cpileri]

What is the actual test for :
MIL-V-43511C .22 caliber ballistic impact test
??

I see pics of pockmarked lenses they say is from birdshot at 30 feet, but what is the actual test?

A 22 Aguila Colibri from 100yds wouldnt impress me too much, but a 220 Swift at 10 feet would. Somewhere in between I'd bet...
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[Stever]

They probably pull a few lenses and shoot them. I have literally seen a test where a 12 gauge was fired at polycarbonate lenses from 10 feet and the lenses did not break.

[cpileri]

What is the trade name of the material polycarbonate? or is that it?
C-

[JohnBT]

I think everybody calls it polycarbonate except General Electric; they call their polycarbonate Lexan.

FWIW, my Varilux brand progressive prescription lenses are polycarbonate, but I was told that due to my prescription they aren't quite thick enough in the center to meet the standard for true safety glasses. We're talking a tenth or a hundredth of a millimeter too thin as I remember it, but the explanation was a few years ago.

John

[cpileri]

yeah, and I found some studies which indicate a critical thickness beneath which the material is very brittle.
So just a bit too thin might be enough to make it not much protection. The difference was really small, but I forget exactly how many hundredths of a millimeter.

I was thinking to get a slab of it in bulk, and make a shield out of it!

For home defense picture a polycarbonate shield, clear so you can see thru it, with a notch on the top rim to rest your firearm for balance since your non-dominant hand/arm is occupied with the shield.
You get whole body ballistic and impact protection, a steady rest, and in hand-to-hand you have a bludgeoning device better than your firearm.

And a bulk buy would be alot cheaper than a ballistic shield at a few hundred bucks each!

Crazy?

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[Stever]

To have true OSHA approved safety glasses, the spectacles must consist of a safety frame, safety lenses, and side shields. You must have all three or they are not safety glasses. The lenses should have a 3.0 mm center thickness. If your regular glasses are 3.0 mm center thickness polycarbonate lenses, they still are not safety since the frame is not safety.

The canopy on an F-16 is polycarbonate as are most football helmets. Polycarbonate can be drilled if you want but it can crack around the drill holes. The problem might be in finding a large enough piece to use as a shield. And break out the checkbook. You might be better off using some other material with a polycarbonate window.

If you want to shoot some polycarbonate lenses go to an optical store and ask if they have any discarded polycarbonate lenses. Most cheap sunglasses are polycarbonate since they are naturally UV blocking but those lenses are very thin.

[mete]

Polycarbonate was developed by General Electric and their trade name is Lexan.

[ClarkEMyers]

Safariland sold (may still? but I don't think so) Lexan clipboards for officer safety - I've seen one with a hole in it from a range test - every little bit helps. I'm not sure what habits it might encourage.

[The_Antibubba]

I'm not sure where you'd look for it, but a lot of times when a gas station or a bank is closed, the fixtures go on sale or to auction. I've seen 5' X 8', 2" thick polycarbonate panels practically given away.

[skip]

There's also a maximum thickness beyond which polycarbonate becomes brittle (but I've never found out what it is). It was discovered during some R&D for bullet proof windows, where the initial thinking was that if a little is good, then a lot must be real good. Nope.

At least they tested before putting real people behind it.