Glass fiber reinforcement
What is glass fiber reinforcement? Plastics can be processed with glass fibers to form fiber-plastic composites. Both thermoplastics and thermosets can be used as the basic plastic matrix. They are also known as glass fiber reinforced plastics (GRP) and are relatively inexpensive to produce. Glass fiber reinforcement improves many mechanical properties, such as elongation at […]
Crystallinity (thermoplastics)
What is crystallinity of plastics? Unlike thermosets and elastomers, thermoplastics can also form crystals. In reality, however, most plastics are only partially crystalline (partial crystallinity). This is due to the fact that pure thermoplastics are not cross-linked and the polymer chains can be highly ordered next to each other. A high degree of order or […]
Hardness (thermoplastics)
What is hardness (thermoplastics)? The hardness describes the resistance of the sample to penetration by a body. The Shore D hardness test is often used for thermoplastics (comparable to Shore A). However, ball indentation hardness is also increasingly being tested. With ball indentation hardness, a ball with a diameter of 5 mm is pressed onto […]
Polyetheretherketone (PEEK)
What is polyether ether ketone (PEEK)? PEEK is one of the so-called high-performance polymers, as it has the best heat resistance of all plastics and combines this with very good mechanical properties. Reinforced PEEK is able to withstand continuous operation at temperatures of up to 280 °C and exhibits excellent dimensional stability. Glass fiber reinforcement […]
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
What is polyethylene terephthalate (PET)? PET is a polymer synthesized from terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol and thus forms a thermoplastic polyester. Depending on the manufacturing process, it can be amorphous (transparent) or semi-crystalline with a crystallinity of 30 – 40 %. The crystallization rate during production is very low. PET is characterized in particular […]
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
What is polyvinyl chloride (PVC)? The polymer of vinyl chloride as a monomer is an amorphous, solid, rigid and hard thermoplastic. PVC can be produced using different manufacturing processes; a distinction is made between emulsion polymerization (E-PVC), suspension polymerization (S-PVC) and mass polymerization (M-PVC). S- and M-PVC are considered to be of higher quality. PVC […]
Polycarbonates (PC)
What are polycarbonates (PC)? Polycarbonates are characterized by their transparency (translucency). This is achieved by the amorphous character of the thermoplastic, with a density of 1.20 g/cm³. The most commonly used polycarbonate is obtained from bisphenol A and phosgene via polycondensation. This esterifies bisphenol A via a carboxylic acid. However, polycarbonates can also be produced […]
Polyamides (PA)
What are polyamides (PA)? Polyamides are semi-crystalline thermoplastics with a crystallinity of up to 60%. They are produced by polycondensation of an amino and a carboxylic acid group, often using aminocarboxylic acids directly as monomers, which contain both groups. Polyamide is an umbrella term and there are many different types, depending on the monomer used. […]
Polyoxymethylene (POM)
What is polyoxymethylene (POM)? Polyoxymethylenes are highly crystalline thermoplastics with a high density, strength, hardness and rigidity. The polymers also have good wear resistance and good sliding properties. However, their formability and impact strength are weaker than those of other plastics. They also have good electrical insulation properties when absorbing moisture. They can be used […]
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)
What is polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)? PTFE is polymerized from tetrafluoroethylene, in which all hydrogen atoms of PE have been exchanged for fluorine atoms (comparable to PVDF). PTFE is a semi-crystalline thermoplastic with high crystallinity and a density of 2.140 – 2.200 g/cm³. With good toughness, PTFE has medium strength and hardness. PTFE is particularly well known […]
Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)
What is polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)? Polyvinylidene fluoride, a semi-crystalline thermoplastic, is produced from the polymerization of vinylidene fluoride. PVDF therefore differs from PE in that around half of the hydrogen atoms have been replaced by fluorine atoms. PVDF is characterized by its very good chemical resistance, especially to chlorine, bromine, acids and hydrolysis. It is […]
Polypropylene (PP)
What is polypropylene (PP)? Polypropylene has a relatively high crystallization (60 – 70 %) with a density of 0.900 – 0.915 g/cm³ and is therefore a polymeric, semi-crystalline thermoplastic. Compared to polyethylene, PP has high rigidity and hardness, although its impact strength is significantly lower. Polypropylene can be used at temperatures of up to 120 […]
Polyethylene (PE)
What is polyethylene (PE)? The semi-crystalline thermoplastic polyethylene is obtained from the polymerization of ethylene. A distinction is made between the low-density(LD) and the high-density (HD) form. Due to the strong branching between the polymer chains, LDPE is difficult to crystallize and therefore has a low density. HDPE, on the other hand, consists of linear […]
Thermoplastic elastomers
What are thermoplastic elastomers? The material consists of elastic polymer polymer chains and thermoplastic areas. They combine the most important features of both material classes: the elasticity and pressure resistance of elastomers and the formability of thermoplasticsat higher temperatures. On cooling, the plastic solidifies again and returns to its elastic properties. It thus forms an […]
Thermoplastic
What is a thermoplastic? Non-elastic plastics that can be deformed at higher temperatures are called thermoplastics. Unlike thermosetsthe plastic mass liquefies when heat is applied, making it malleable without returning to its original shape. On cooling, the plastic mass solidifies again. This process can be repeated at will. It is a purely physical process. The […]
Thermoset
What is a thermoset? Thermosets are non-elastic plastics that are characterized by a very high degree of cross-linking between the polymer chains. polymer chains between the polymer chains. The degree of cross-linking is even higher than with elastomersas they are chemically cured and not vulcanized. vulcanized vulcanized. They differ from thermoplasticsin that they do not […]
