Carrier Tape Materials: PC, PS and PET

Carrier tape is a formed thermoplastic, and the sheet you start with sets the limits of what the finished tape can do. Material choice affects forming temperature, achievable pocket depth, ESD performance, pocket clarity and cost per metre. It also has to be fixed before tooling is cut, because die clearance and cooling are designed around a specific material behaviour.

The three mainstream materials

Property	PC (Polycarbonate)	PS (Polystyrene)	PET
Formability	Good, needs higher temperature	Excellent, wide window	Moderate, narrow window
Impact strength	Very high	Moderate	Moderate to high
Typical use	Deep cavities, heavy or sensitive parts	General purpose, LED, consumer	Stiffness and thermal resistance
Clarity	High, supports visual inspection	Moderate	Moderate
Cost	Highest	Lowest	Mid

Material is normally supplied in rolls 0.2–0.5 mm thick and up to 700 mm wide, then slit to finished tape width. Conductive and anti-static grades are available across all three families; the additives change surface resistivity and, to a lesser degree, the forming window.

Choosing between them

Choose PC when the pocket has to protect a heavy, fragile or expensive part, when cavities are deep, or when the customer needs to inspect the part through the tape. It costs more and runs hotter, but it holds shape under load.

Choose PS for the majority of SMT, LED and consumer electronics tape. It forms easily, tolerates a wider temperature window and keeps cost per metre low — the standard choice unless there is a specific reason to move away from it.

Choose PET when stiffness and temperature resistance are the drivers, accepting a narrower process window and more attention to heater control.

Process consequences

Each material has its own forming window; running a PS recipe on PC gives incomplete definition, and running a PC recipe on PS gives sagging walls and sticking. Our guide to optimizing forming temperature for PC and PS covers the symptoms and the adjustments.

Moisture is the other variable. Hygroscopic material that has absorbed water can show surface defects and inconsistent pocket formation; drying ovens are used before forming where the material data sheet calls for it. The raw materials technical article goes deeper into grade selection.

Material and machine together

Tell us the material grade and thickness at the specification stage, not after the tooling is approved. A die cut for 0.3 mm PS will not perform the same on 0.4 mm PC, and rebuilding a die is a longer delay than choosing correctly the first time. Start from the machine selection guide or contact us with your material data sheet.