Properties of Plastic Materials and their Appropriate Application

The following are some of the properties of plastic materials and the suitable application: Power Strength: it refers to how much force a material can bear before it breaks. Plastic materials with high power strength are appropriate for applications that will subject them to a lot of force and powerThermal Conductivity: it refers to the maximum amount of heat that a material can conduct. Materials whose thermal conductivity is high are appropriate for making products that will be subjected to high temperatures during usage.Quantity of Thermal Expansion: it refers to the extent of expansion and contraction at a particular temperature. This is very important in determining the amount of heat that should be applied on the material in order to transform it into required forming temperatures.Chemical Resistance: it refers to the way the material behaves when it comes into contact with the various chemicals. Plastic products that are meant to interact with certain chemicals should be made with materials that are resistant to those chemicals.Stiffness: It refers to how rigid the material is. Rigid materials are appropriate for making products that don’t require bending when in use.Heat Deflection: it refers to the maximum temperatures that will make the material distort. Products that may be exposed to high temperatures should be made with materials that have high heat distortion. Other unmentioned properties include hardness, flammability, mold shrinkage, Forming range, Tensile strength and dielectric strength.
However, some of the properties of materials are usually in conflict with others. This means that maximizing one property of the plastic material can consequently weaken another one. It is therefore important to balance the properties required for a certain application in order to produce effective products.