Plastics offer extraordinary advantages in product manufacturing. Because they are easily softened or melted, they can be molded into almost any shape. Plastics have replaced traditional materials like metals and wood in countless applications because of their cost effectiveness and property attributes.

Plastics can be divided into two processing groups, thermoplastics and thermosets:

Thermoplastics are heated to a state where they flow and then are processed by pressure or vacuum forming, extrusion through a die or injection into a mold. Thermoplastics solidify by cooling to ambient temperatures.

Thermosets are heated until reactive agents compounded into them cause the material to set up.

Both processes can be extremely cost effective, with high throughput rates and part-to-part reproducibility.



The enormous variety of uses for plastics places a heavy demand on testing at all stages of development, manufacturing and end use qualification.

The numerous attributes of plastics mean that much testing needs to be done to ensure that the product consistently achieves acceptability for its intended use.

• The plastic supplier tests the polymer, usually by conducting standard tests on standardized specimens. This testing results in material data sheets and approval for shipment of resin.
• The processor (converter), whether it be a molder, extruder or thermoformer, tests the processed material, conducting both standardized and application specific tests.
• The product manufacturer then tests the product in its final form, conducting tests specific to the end use of the product. 
• Quality control functions at each product stage will frequently also confirm the properties reported by the previous stage. Cutting corners in testing is a leading cause of product failures and can be extremely costly, far outweighing any perceived saving through reduced testing.