Scribd
Upload
46 views

Why Use Plastics: Produced and Require Less Skilled Staff

Plastics are easily formed materials that can be mass produced at low cost. They require little finishing and are corrosion resistant, light, and often waterproof. The main source of synthetic plastics is crude oil, which is broken down into monomers that are polymerized into plastics. Thermoplastics can be reshaped when heated while thermosetting plastics solidify permanently when heated. Common plastics include polystyrene, acrylic, nylon, PVC, and polythene which are used in products like food packaging, aircraft canopies, clothing, pipes, and containers.

Uploaded by

Viplav Verma
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
46 views

Why Use Plastics: Produced and Require Less Skilled Staff

Plastics are easily formed materials that can be mass produced at low cost. They require little finishing and are corrosion resistant, light, and often waterproof. The main source of synthetic plastics is crude oil, which is broken down into monomers that are polymerized into plastics. Thermoplastics can be reshaped when heated while thermosetting plastics solidify permanently when heated. Common plastics include polystyrene, acrylic, nylon, PVC, and polythene which are used in products like food packaging, aircraft canopies, clothing, pipes, and containers.

Uploaded by

Viplav Verma
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 12

Why use plastics

• Plastic are easily formed materials.

• The advantage to the manufacturer is that plastic products can be mass-


produced and require less skilled staff.

• Plastics require little or no finishing, painting, polishing etc. Plastic is


referred to as a self-finishing material. Particular finishes can be achieved
at relatively low cost.

• Plastics can be easily printed, decorated or painted.

• Plastics are corrosion resistant, and generally waterproof although


certain types of plastics such as UPVC can become brittle and it is possible
for the sun’s rays to cause the colour of the plastic to fade. It becomes
bleached.

• Plastics are lighter than metals, giving deeper sections for a given
weight, and hence stronger sections.
Origins of Plastics - synthetic plastics.
• The main source of synthetic plastics
is crude oil.

• Coal and natural gas are also used.

• Petrol, paraffin, lubricating oils and


high petroleum gases are bi-products,
produced during the refining of crude
oil.

• These gases are broken down into


monomers. Monomers are chemical
substances consisting of a single
molecule.

• A process called Polymerisation


occurs when thousands of monomers
are linked together. The compounds
formed as called polymers.

• Combining the element carbon with


one or more other elements such as
oxygen, hydrogen, chlorine, fluorine
and nitrogen makes most polymers.
Natural Plastics
• Natural ‘plastic products’ occur in such things as animals’ horns, animals’
milk, insects, plants and trees.

• Animals horns - Casein (glue)

• Animals milk - Formaldehyde (glue)

• Insects - Shellac (French polishing)

• Plants - Cellulose (table tennis balls), Cellulose acetate (cloth, photographic


film, handles), Cellophane (wrapping), Bitumen (roads, flat roofs)

• Trees - Latex (rubber)


Thermoplastics
• There are a wide range of
thermoplastics, some that are rigid and Long chain molecules
some that are extremely flexible.

• The molecules of thermoplastics are in


lines or long chains with very few
entanglements. When heat is applied
the molecules move apart, which
increases the distance between them,
causing them to become untangled.
This allows them to become soft when
heated so that they can be bent into all
sorts of shapes.

• When they are left to cool the chains of


molecules cool, take their former
position and the plastic becomes stiff
and hard again. The process of
heating, shaping, reheating and
reforming can be repeated many
times.
Thermoplastics and Plastic
Memory
Each time a thermoplastic is reheated it will try and return to its
original shape, unless it has been damaged due to overheating or
overstretching. This property is called plastic memory.

This is why a shape formed in thermoplastic becomes flat when


reheated.
Thermosetting plastics
• The molecules of thermosetting
plastics are heavily cross-linked. Cross-linked molecules
They form a rigid molecular
structure.

• The molecules in thermoplastics


sit end-to-end and side-by-side.

• Although they soften when heated


the first time, which allows them to
be shaped they become
permanently stiff and solid and
cannot be reshaped.

• Thermoplastics remain rigid and


non-flexible even at high
temperatures. Polyester resin
and urea formaldehyde are
examples of thermosetting
plastics.
Expanded polystyrene

• This is used for


disposable food
packaging,
disposable cups, heat
insulation and
protective
packaging for
electrical equipment.

• Image: Protective
packaging
Clear Acrylic (Perspex)
• It was first used to
make aircraft
canopies. It is ten
times more impact
resistant than glass.

• Image: Perspex top


of a container
Polystyrene

• Polystyrene is used to
make plates, cutlery
and model kits.

• It is stiff hard and


comes in a wide
range of colours.

• Image: cup and


saucer
Nylon
• Nylon is hard, tough, self-
lubricating, has a high
melting point and has
very good resistance to
wear and tear.

• It has been used to make


clothing, bearings and
propellers.

• Image: A nylon castor


(wheel).
PVC
• The rigid type is used to
make pipes, guttering
and roofing. It is very
lightweight and is
resistant to acids and
alkalis.
• The plasticised type is
used for suitcases,
hosepipes, electrical
wiring and floor
coverings.
• Image: plumbing U-bend
Polythene
• High-density
polythene has been
used to manufacture
milk crates, bottles,
buckets, bowl and
gear wheels.

• It is stiff, hard, can be


sterilised and is
dense.

You might also like