In my time working with plastics, I have had to do quite a lot of research. This is not something that you can just jump into and expect to know how everything works! It’s vital, when working in any field, to know your way around. For example, you may first want to start with something as simple as what plastic is! It sounds silly, but when it comes down to it, polymer molding is probably a lot more complex than you think. You wouldn’t believe the variety of synthetic (as well as semi-synthetic) materials are used in plastic manufacturing. Who knew? And What are those materials? That’s what I set out to find.
Plastic is basically a large molecule composed of repeating structural units, also referred to as a polymer. Many manufacturers of plastic add a mixture of other compounds in order to reduce the cost and make the product better. This is often very productive. Depending on the manufacturer you go to, composition of plastic may vary, but never too drastically.
One of the truly great things about plastic, is it’s flexibility during the manufacturing process. That’s why it’s no surprise that the word itself has it’s origins in Greek. The word “plastikos” in Greek, literally means “the ability to be shaped or molded.” Thanks to this fact, there is an extremely wide array of storm panels that we are able to create and mass produce.
Typically, there are two main variations of plastic, thermoplastics and thermosetting polymers. These are different in one essential way, and that relates to whether or not the plastic has gone through a chemical change. As in the case with thermoplastics, the plastic has not changed in composition after being melted down. This, unlike thermosetting polymers, gives it the ability to be heated several times over (these plastics consist of such materials as polyethylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride and polytetrafluoroethylene).
Other than these two main types, there are also quite a few other ways to distinguish plastics from one another. Many times, they will be referred to by their physical properties. These can range anywhere from density, durability, and temperature of transition. Knowing all of these things can influence a manufacturer’s decision in what material he ultimately buys, depending on the product that they’re looking to create.
The number of variations branching off from thermoplastics and thermosetting plastics is truly incredulous. Throughout the time period before, during, and after the second World War, demand for production increased exponentially. This led to experiments in Germany by IG Farben, where he produced two still very widely used plastics. PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and polystyrene are essential to piping, windows, storm drains, and so many other things to this day.
But these plastics were still not enough for the growing rate of industrialization. Shortly after their release, a discovery was made that opened up hundreds of doors for manufacturers, polyamide. Polyamide may sound more familiar to you by its other name, nylon. Nylon was able to stretch at a rate that not many had seen, and after the war, production in women’s stockings rose to an incredible height!
As with every industry, there are going to be a lot of innovative people trying to improve upon it. Rubber was often used for several products, but when supplies were scarce during WWII, it was very difficult for manufacturers to acquire. Thus inspired the making of synthetic rubber. After the revealing of this material, the demand for it began to rise and rise to record heights.
Overall, it’s undeniable that a large amount of amenities that we take for granted would not be possible without PVC pipe manufacturing. We should all be thankful for the plastic product manufacturer that essentially keep us safe! If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, just start looking into the materials that go into hurricane shutters!
– Gregory Scott
