Page 45 - Engineering Plastics Handbook

Chapter
2

Products and Design*

James M. Margolis †
Margolis Polymers
Montreal, Province of Quebec, Canada

Design opportunities begin with properties introduced by the chemistry
of polymerization, and they continue through fabrication processes and
assembly technologies. The designer of engineering thermoplastics for a
given product is concerned with every aspect of the product includ-
ing process options and property requirements, such as mechanical
properties—tensile, compressive, flexural, torque, and shear strength and
modulus; creep; and stress relaxation. Engineering plastics are frequently
called upon for long-term applications that challenge the viscoelastic prop-
erties that go beyond the elastic limit. Long-term properties transcend the
conventional short-term tests provided by the American Society for Testing
and Materials (ASTM), International Organization for Standardization
(ISO), and other recognized short-term test methods. The designer is
involved with details of processing, e.g., with melt volume change during
injection molding, and mold designs such as gate type, size, and locations.
Engineering plastics are successfully designed into thousands of products
owing to their properties such as elevated temperatures, sustainable high
loads, and electrical aspects. Engineering thermoplastics products are
used in every industry, affecting virtually all aspects of our daily lives. They

*The chapter author, editors, publisher, and companies referred to are not responsible
for the use or accuracy of information in this chapter, such as property data, processing
parameters, and applications.
†
Author can be contacted at margolispolymers1@verizon.net or by writing him at
Margolis Polymers, 40 Twilight Avenue, Keansburg, New Jersey 07734 USA.

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