Overview
In contrast to crosslinking thermosets, whose cure reaction cannot be reversed, thermoplastics harden when cooled but retain their plasticity; that is, they will remelt and can be reshaped by reheating them above their processing temperature. Less-expensive thermoplastic matrices offer lower processing temperatures but also have limited use temperatures. They draw from the menu of both engineered and commodity plastics, such as polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polycarbonate (PC), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyamide (PA or nylon) and polypropylene (PP). High-volume commercial products, such as athletic footwear, orthotics and medical prostheses, benefit from the toughness and moisture resistance of these resins, as do automotive air intake manifolds and other underhood parts.
Thermoplastic composites: Primary structure?
Yes, advanced forms are in development, but has the technology progressed enough to make the business case?
Read complete article 
Safariland LLC (Ontario, Calif.), produces gun holsters, previously made of leather, from a proprietary composite that relies on a custom-formulated thermoplastic sheet product from Boltaron Performance Products LLC (Newcomerstown, Ohio)
Spare wheel well: Functional integration 3/31/2012 Composites TechnologyGas-assist injection molding enables one-piece, one-shot thermoplastic composite/metal hybrid.
Thermoplastic Wind Blades: To be or not? 3/31/2012 Composites TechnologyWill future wind blades incorporate thermoplastic composites? It depends on whom you ask.
Composites: Materials and processes 1/3/2012 Composites TechnologyHigh strength and low weight remain the winning combination that propels composite materials into new arenas, but other properties —vibrational damping and low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), fatigue resistance are jsut as appealing. Moreover, the potential for significant parts consolidation provides design/fabrication flexibility that can translate into a finished product that requires less raw material, fewer joints and fasteners and shorter assembly time.
Automotive evolution or real revolution? 1/2/2012 Composites TechnologyHPC's editor-in-chief Jeff Sloan asks, Are efforts by BMW and GM to put carbon composites in cars a harbinger of things to come, as we hope, or flashes in the pan?
View More Content in This Zone
RSS Feeds
Long fiber polyamide PlastiComp LLC
Polyethylene tape TEIJIN ARAMID BV
High-modulus polypropylene fibers Innegrity LLC
Resins for aircraft interiors SABIC Innovative Plastics
More Products
