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With a selection of over 38,000 individual grades of plastic, and with the number of choices tripling every 10 years over the last two decades, selecting the correct plastic compound for a new application or altering a selection for an existing application is a daunting task.
Keeping up with new developments in materials is a full-time proposition that few designers and engineers can afford. With large firms cutting back on internal technical support, end users often rely on processors and material manufacturers for recommendations. However, the knowledge resources of this supplier base also are depleted and may lack the objectivity needed to make an informed choice. Ignorance of new technologies can mean missed opportunities for improved performance at a reduced cost, but sorting fact from fiction is difficult. Failing in this effort can have far-reaching consequences for product success and profitability.
This short course in material selection organizes the crowded landscape by breaking the material selection process down to its fundamental elements. It then uses this foundation to build a systematic approach to determining cost-effective solutions that combine the material selection with processing and design considerations.
Participants learn to distinguish streams of data from truly valuable information and learn to ask the right questions of their suppliers to arrive at viable material selections. The emphasis of the course is on thermoplastics in the injection molding process.
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Who Should Attend ▼
Mold designers, tooling engineers and toolmakers, product designers, buyers, molders
and managers.
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Benefits and Learning Outcomes ▼
- Distinguish streams of data from truly valuable information and learn to ask the right questions of their suppliers in order to arrive at viable material selections
- Understand plastic properties that will help you avoid mistakes in molding
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Course Outline/Topics ▼
Defining the Fundamentals that Determine
Plastic Properties
- Molecular weight – the foundation of polymer technology
- The relationship to viscosity
- The relationship to properties
- New technologies that change the rules
- Methods of Polymerization – addition and
condensation polymers
- Polarity – why nylons absorb water and polyethylenes
absorb gasoline
- Amorphous and semi-crystalline polymers
- Detecting the presence of crystalline structure
- Effects on processing and properties
- The role of polymer blends
Property Evaluations – Short Term
- Tensile, flexural, and compressive properties
- Impact properties – various methods of measurement
- Thermal properties
- Other properties – flammability, wear resistance, optical, etc.
- The role of material property databases and selection utilities
Property Evaluations – Long Term
- Effects of temperature
- Chemical resistance – effects of temperature and time
- Creep resistance, stress relations and fatigue
- The fundamental equivalence of temperature and time
- Environment stress crack resistance
- Radiation resistance – weathering, ultraviolet, sterilization
Property Modifications
- Fillers and reinforcements
- Impact modifiers
- Colorants
- Stabilizers
Establishing the Cost / Performance Profile
- Defining application requirements
- Matching requirements of a cost effective material family
- Design properties vs. inherent properties
- Designing for manufacturing
- The role of simulation
Selecting a Material Supplier
Case Studies – Successes and Failures
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