Redwood Plastics distributes engineering plastics and that word “engineering” should tip you off – there is some specialized terminology we use in our literature and articles. Not everything is relevant and some terms are more important than others for our clients, we will outline a few common terms here:
Creep: The slow changing in dimensional stability of a plastic. Especially relevant with polyethylene.
Cross-linking: When valence bonds are formed between polymer chain molecules. In effect, making the material stronger.
Commodity plastic: lower priced, lower performance plastics used for common consumer needs such as point of purchase displays, toys, household containers.
Engineering plastics: higher priced, higher performance plastics used to solve problems for industry. For example, bushings, bearings, wear guides, diverter arms, hopper liners, etc.
Elastomer: A plastic material with rubber-like qualities.
Extrusion: A heated plastic is forced through a die.
FRP: Fiberglass reinforced plastic. Corrosion-resistant materials used as railings, grating, stairways, etc replacing traditional materials such as steel, aluminum or wood.
Polyurethane: An elastomer with unique physical properties. Can be made anywhere from a soft deadplate to absorb impact, to hard lubrication-impregnated bearing grades.
Thermoplastic: A plastic that can be softened by heat and hardened by cooling in a reversible process.
Thermoset: A Plastic that cannot be reformed after setting.
UHMW-PE: Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene. Perhaps the most popular and widely used engineering plastic.
Obviously there are many terms we did not discuss here. For your questions on plastic please contact us:
E-MAIL: sales@redwoodplastics.com
CDN: 1 800 667 0999
USA: 1 866 733 2684