The size of the poly carbonite went from 1" in thick to 1/10th of an inch. We do not have this on shelves in our hardware stores how is this avaliable to us?

This isn't really a RobotC question, but you can purchase such polycarbonate from McMaster-Carr, which has an awesome on-line store and incredibly prompt shipping.

For example, this link
http://www.mcmaster.com/#8574k38/=c116u

is for a 1/16 inch thick 12x24 inch piece.

Yeah, it can get very difficult to try and find specific building materials. One trick is to go to a local hardware store and ask someone there if there is a local manufacturing or distributor who could have it. Don't be afraid to ask around, the more people you ask the better chances you have. People in manufacturing usually have a good knowledge of whats local and where you can get it B-)

Also, If you know any local teams you could try and ask them where they get the materials too. In our area teams love to help out, but iv also heard of teams that wont do this sadly.

Hope this helps!
Scott B-)

Moved to Off-Topic.

Poly carbonate what it is and for what purpose it is used,,,,,

Polycarbonates are a particular group of thermoplastic polymers. They are easily worked, moulded, and thermoformed; as such, these plastics are very widely used in the modern chemical industry. Their interesting features (temperature resistance, impact resistance and optical properties) position them between commodity plastics and engineering plastics.
(from Wikipedia)

In other words, it's a nice kind of plastic that can easily be worked into robot bodies. It's fairly cheap and comes in a wide range of shapes and thicknesses.

Regards,
Xander