ABS Printed Bell on Makerbot ThingOMatic

Engineering plastics are a group of

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

materials that have better mechanical and/or thermal properties than the more widely used commodity plastics (such as polystyrene, PVC,

polypropylene Polypropylene (PP), also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications. It is produced via chain-growth polymerization from the monomer propylene. Polypropylene belongs to the group of polyolefins a ...

and

polyethylene Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging ( plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and containers including b ...

). Being more expensive than standard plastics, engineering plastics are produced in lower quantities and tend to be used for smaller objects or low-volume applications (such as mechanical parts), rather than for bulk and high-volume ends (like containers and packaging). Engineering plastics have a higher heat resistance than standard plastics and are continuously usable at temperatures up to about 150 °C. The term usually refers to

thermoplastic A thermoplastic, or thermosoft plastic, is any plastic polymer material that becomes pliable or moldable at a certain elevated temperature and solidifies upon cooling. Most thermoplastics have a high molecular weight. The polymer chains associate ...

materials rather than

thermoset In materials science, a thermosetting polymer, often called a thermoset, is a polymer that is obtained by irreversibly hardening (" curing") a soft solid or viscous liquid prepolymer ( resin). Curing is induced by heat or suitable radiation ...

ting ones. Examples of engineering plastics include polyamides (PA, nylons), used for

ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partia ...

s and

ski boot Ski boots are footwear used in skiing to provide a way to attach the skier to skis using ski bindings. The ski/boot/binding combination is used to effectively transmit control inputs from the skier's legs to the snow. History Ski boots were lea ...

s; polycarbonates (PC), used in

motorcycle helmet A motorcycle helmet is a type of helmet used by motorcycle riders. Motorcycle helmets contribute to motorcycle safety by protecting the rider's head in the event of an impact. They reduce the risk of head injury by 69% and the risk of death by 42% ...

s and

optical disc In computing and optical disc recording technologies, an optical disc (OD) is a flat, usually circular disc that encodes binary data (bits) in the form of pits and lands on a special material, often aluminum, on one of its flat surfaces. ...

s; and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA, major brand names acrylic glass and plexiglass), used e.g. for taillights and protective shields. The currently most-consumed engineering plastic is acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), used for e.g. car bumpers,

dashboard For business applications, see Dashboard (business). A dashboard (also called dash, instrument panel (IP), or fascia) is a control panel set within the central console of a vehicle or small aircraft. Usually located directly ahead of the drive ...

trim and Lego.

Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

plastics have gradually replaced traditional engineering materials such as metal, glass or ceramics in many applications. Besides equalling or surpassing them in weight/strength and other properties, engineering plastics are much easier to manufacture, especially in complicated shapes. Across all different product types, more than 22 million tonnes of engineering plastics were consumed worldwide in 2020.

Relevant properties

Each engineering plastic usually has a unique combination of properties that may make it the material of choice for some application. For example, polycarbonates are highly resistant to impact, while polyamides are highly resistant to abrasion. Other properties exhibited by various grades of engineering plastics include heat resistance, mechanical strength, rigidity, chemical stability, self lubrication (specially used in manufacturing of gears & skids) and fire safety.

Examples

* Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) *

Nylon 6 Nylon 6 or polycaprolactam is a polymer, in particular semicrystalline polyamide. Unlike most other nylons, nylon 6 is not a condensation polymer, but instead is formed by ring-opening polymerization; this makes it a special case in the compar ...

* Nylon 6-6 * Polyamides (PA) * Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) * Polycarbonates (PC)
Polyetherimide (PEI) ULTEM
* Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) * Polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) * Polyetherketones (PEK) *

Polyketone Polyketones are a family of high-performance thermoplastic polymers. The polar ketone groups in the polymer backbone of these materials gives rise to a strong attraction between polymer chains, which increases the material's melting point (255&nbs ...

(PK) * Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) * Polyimides * Polyoxymethylene plastic (POM / Acetal) * Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) * Polyphenylene oxide (PPO) * Polysulphone (PSU) * Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE / Teflon) * Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)

References

Plastics {{Polymer-stub

Relevant properties

Examples

See also

References