Greenfaulds High School

Technical Department

Standard Grade - Craft & Design

Knowledge & Understanding

In
Plastic
Page
Plastics

The basic raw materials used in the manufacture of plastics are oil, natural
gas and coal, but contrary to popular belief, plastics are not a new ”space age”
material. Natural plastics such as shellac, wax horn, pitch and bitumen have
been known for thousands of years.
Just as timber is classified as either a softwood or a hardwood and metal as
either a ferrous or non-ferrous, so plastics are classified into two main
groups; Thermoplastics and Thermosetting plastics.

Thermoplastics
Thermoplastics soften when heated , can then be shaped, and then harden as
they cool. With this type of plastic the softening and hardening can be
repeated many times over. When a thermoplastic has been re-heated it will
return to it’s original shape unless it been permanently damaged by excessive
heat or deformation. This characteristic of thermoplastics on re-heating is
known as Plastic Memory (i.e. it remembers what its original shape was).

Thermosetting Plastics

As the name implies thermosetting plastics (or thermosets) set or solidify,

when heated and cannot be returned to their original state by further
heating.

Common Plastics

The following are descriptions of some of the more common types of thermo
and thermosetting plastics in everyday use.

Acrylic

Acrylic materials are among the most commonly used thermoplastics in the
school workshop and the material in which will most likely be the material
used to manufacture any artefacts which are made. Often better known by
it’s trade name “Perspex”, acrylic is available in clear or coloured sheets,
rods and tubes. Acrylic is easily scratched and therefore sheets are usually
covered on both sides by protective paper or thin polythene. As has been
Page 2
explained acrylic can come to the workshop in many various forms.
Supply form

Round Bar
Round Tube
used for the
used as Pipes
handle of a
screwdriver

Sheet used for

shop signs
Square Bar

Extruded strip
used for Square Tube
curtain rails

Page 3
Table of commonly used everyday plastics

Thermosetting Thermo

Hard, Hard, Hard, Stiff, Stiff, hard Good

Heat Heat Heat Hard, wide range of colour
Properties
Resistant Resistant Resistant Clear, easy colours OR range.
cut, glued, very light and stiff, hard
polished, buoyant. OR soft &
scratches flexible.
easily.

Forms Powder Liquid Liquid Rod, tube Powders Powders,

granules Paste Paste and sheet granules and pastes &
in a wide sheet OR slabs sheets
range of and beads.
colours.

Uses Electrical Bonding GRP boats, Car light Model kits, Pipes,
appliances Gluing car units, shop disposable guttering
saucepan bodies, signs, cups OR OR
handles embedding watch Insulation and dip coating,
lenses. floats. floor tiles

Plastic Phenolic Epoxy Polyester Acrylic Polystyrene PVC

Resin Resin Resin

Marking out Acrylic

As has been stated acrylic sheet is supplied covered with paper or polythene
film to prevent scratching of the finished surface. Whilst the paper covered
sheets can be marked with a pencil the polythene covered sheets, and
unprotected sheets are best marked with
Page 4
a felt-tipped pen.
Cutting Acrylic

In the school workshop the most common method of cutting acrylic is by

sawing. Fine toothed saws like the coping saw, hacksaw and junior hacksaw are
the most suitable. Sawing must be done carefully and steadily to avoid
chipping and splintering the material.

The band saw can also be used but is generally only to be used by the teacher.

Hacksaw
The hacksaw is used for general
cutting of metal bar, tubes, etc.
The blade is easily removed by
slackening or tightening of the
front wing nut.

Junior Hacksaw
This type of saw is also used for
cutting metal but is used for light
work or where a hacksaw is too
clumsy.

Coping Saw
The coping saw is used to cut
curves and other awkward cuts in
plastic or wood. It is also unique as
it is one of only a few saws which
has it’s teeth facing backwards. In
normal sawing the cut is made in
the forward stroke but with the
coping saw the cut is made on the
backward stroke.
Page 5
Files

Files are used to shape metal or plastic.

They are available in a number of
different shapes and degrees of
roughness.

Files must not be used without a handle.

Sections of Files
Square Round Half Round

3 Square Flat

Stages in finishing an edge of acrylic

When acrylic plastics are cut they tend to have very rough edges, this is due
to the fact that it is a very brittle material. Brittle means that although it is
very hard, it tends to break easily especially when sawing. To ensure the
plastic is finished with a clean smooth edge it is essential that the edges are
finished in the following sequence.

A Cross file the edges to remove the majority of blemishes.

B Draw file the edges to remove the marks left from cross
filing.
C Use wet and dry paper to get an overall smooth finish.
D Use acrylic or metal polish (Brasso) to achieve the final
finish.
E Buff with a clean cloth. Page 6
Cross filing

In this type of filing the file is

moved across the work piece
using the full length of the blade.
This method of
filing is used for removal of a lot
of material with every stroke
applied.

Draw filing
In this method of filing, the file is
moved sideways along the work
piece and is used to obtain a
smooth finish after cross filing.
This method does
not remove much material.

Cleaning the file

Small pieces of plastic can get
trapped in between the teeth of the
file. This is called PINNING.
A FILE CARD can be used to
clear the file of the excess
material. The file card looks very
similar to a wire brush except the
teeth are very short.
Page 7
Drilling Acrylic
Holes can be drilled or cut in acrylic Shank
using standard drilling equipment,
twist drills or hole saws.

Twist Drill

Twist drills are generally made from

or carbon steel and are used for
drilling circular holes in metal,
plastic or wood. The most common Point
type of drills used are the TWIST
DRILLS. These drills have three
basic parts, a point, a parallel body
and a shank which can be either
parallel or tapered.

Hole Saw

This tool is used to drill big holes in

wood or plastic and is generally
fitted to an electric drill. The hole
saw has a centre drill attached which
is called the PILOT drill. It is
called the pilot drill as it pilots the
larger diameter cutter to exactly
the right location.

Epoxy Resin (Araldite)

In the table on page three it was

seen that epoxy resin comes as a
liquid paste. The picture shows the
form in which it generally purchased
Page 8
Bending and Forming Acrylic

Acrylic becomes soft and pliable when heated to

approximately 150 ºC. In this state it can be
easily bent and formed to shape. On cooling to
room temperature the formed shape is retained.
The most convenient method of heating, prior to
bending and forming, is to use the strip heater
or oven.

The Oven

Where more complex shaping of acrylic is required it is necessary to use an

oven for heating. For a 3mm thick sheet of acrylic the oven should be set to a
maximum temperature of 170˚C and the sheet heated for about 15 - 20
minutes before forming to the required shape.

Safety with Plastics

Working safely with plastics, like most other materials, requires sound
common-sense and the observation of safe working practices. The following
is a list of the more obvious safety precautions that should be noted.

1. When machining acrylic (i.e. sanding, sawing, drilling, etc. ) eye protection
and dust masks should be worn. Sheet material should be securely held in
suitable vices or jigs.

2. On no account must hot thermoplastics be allowed to touch skin or

clothes. When plastic dip coating, for example, stout leather gloves must
be worn.

The Strip Heater

The purpose of the strip heater is to heat only a narrow strip of acrylic to
allow local bending. Before bending the acrylic the protective coating is
removed and then area to be bent is marked with a pen. After heating it
sufficiently the acrylic can be shaped, preferably using a suitable former or
Page 9
jig.
The sequence diagrams shown below
illustrate the four main stages of bending
a piece of acrylic.

The first stage is to mark the line where

the bending will take place.

The second stage is to place the acrylic

over the heating element, turning
regularly to avoid burning.

The third stage is to remove the soft

heated acrylic and place it on a suitable
JIG or FORMER.

The last stage is to bend the acrylic

to the desired shape.

Page 10
Vacuum Forming

In Vacuum Forming, a sheet of thermoplastic held in a clamp is heated until

soft and flexible. Air is sucked out from underneath the sheet so that air
pressure pulls the sheet down onto a specially made mould. This process
enables thermoplastics to be formed into complicated shapes such as
packaging, storage trays and seed trays.

The first stage of vacuum forming is to

clamp the sheet across the top of the
machine and heat it until the plastic is soft
and flexible. This can be judged by watching
the material, which will start to sag under its
own weight when soft. If touched with a
stick it will feel soft and rubbery.

The pattern is then raised up to meet

the hot soft plastic.

At this stage the air has been

sucked out from beneath the plastic
pulling it onto the pattern.

The final stage is to remove the

pattern from the plastic leaving the
finished article.
Page 11