There are many plastic materials to choose from; well over 100,000 as a matter of fact. There are two major groups of thermoplastics – clear (amorphous) and opaque (crystalline).  Each group has a few rule-breakers but for the most part you can assume plexiglass and polycarbonate are amorphous and nylon and polypropylene are crystalline. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, but for the most part knowing what the product needs to do will point a plastics engineer in the right direction.

There is a third type of plastic that must be mentioned – thermosets. A thermoset material differs from a thermoplastic material in that once you melt a “raw” thermoset and form it into the desired shape, you cannot re-melt the product or economically recycle scrap material. In other words, thermosets undergo a chemical change during the molding process whereas thermoplastics undergo a physical change during the molding process.
We strive to, and are very successful at, re-cycling almost all of the scrap material produced during the typical thermoplastic molding process.

What makes plastics so special?

Try to imagine a world without plastics and you will soon realize how revolutionary they really are. Plastics literally surround us, from the clothes we wear to the tools we use, numerous life-saving medical devices, bullet-proof vests, squeeze-ketchup bottles and on and on…
The list is endless as engineers from every discipline incorporate plastics within their continuously evolving product-lines.

The field of plastics is relatively new compared to metals, wood, ceramic, and other timeless natural materials. The relatively young status of plastics materials science means there is still an exceptional amount for us to learn regarding our ability to manipulate their structures and produce novel resins with new properties never before thought possible.