an engineer's perspective on performance plastics

presented by Eric R. Larson. P.E.

An Engineer’s Perspective on Performance Plastics I f I only knew then what I know now . . .

Detroit THE BEGINNING

The Motor City

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B.S.E. COLLEGE

Aerospace Engineering

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Boogie Boards HAVING FUN

California Here I Come!

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Water Sports HAVING FUN

Swimming Pools, Movie Stars

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SCUBA diving HAVING FUN

Toys for Sharper Image

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Weed Wackers HAVING FUN

Lawn & Garden Tools

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DuPont A REAL JOB

Engineering Plastics

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Star t With The Familiar 

THE LESSONS

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Ethafoam®

THE LESSONS

open cell PE foam different densities different thicknesses

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 Learn A New Language

( or two, or three . . . )

THE LESSONS

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Polymer Chemistry THE LESSONS

Molecules NOT base elements carbon based (organic) primarily synthetic (man-made)

The Mer Family

mono-mers poly-mers homo-polymers co-polymers ter-polymers

© 2014 Eric R. Larson, all rights reserved

Polymer Chemistry THE LESSONS

Polymerization marriage of the Mers ( the divorce of the Mers )

Categories & Divisions thermoplastics vs thermosets amorphous vs semi-crystalline aliphatic vs aromatic

A Language All It’s Own chemistry + physics

© 2014 Eric R. Larson, all rights reserved

Meet the Family 

THE LESSONS

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Meet the Family THE LESSONS

Introduce Me to Your Family Tell Me What the Materials Are Tell Me What they Can Do

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BrandNames

A Little Bit About Brands THE LESSONS

Crapalloy® 727WTF offers high strength and stiffness along with exceptional chemical resistance and toughness over a broad temperature range. It has excellent processability, low warpage, and good flow characteristics, making it suitable for a wide range of applications.

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A Little Bit About Brands THE LESSONS

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Meeting Your Family THE LESSONS

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This material is a nylon blend.

It consists of a mix of standard unreinforced PA 6 (50% by weight) and a customized PA 6/6 that has been reinforced with standard short glass fiber using a commercially available coupling technology, at a glass loading of 30% by weight.

By weight, the resulting blend is thus 50% PA 6, 34.5% PA 6/6, 15% glass fiber, and 0.5% coupling agent.

Any Questions so Far? 

THE LESSONS

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Learning to Work Together 

THE LESSONS

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Why Use Plastic?

corrosion resistance!

molded-in color!

reduced weight!

molded-in features!

global availability!

design freedom!

net shape manufacturing !

energy efficient!

accurate and repeatable !

environmentally benign!

part consolidation!

lower part costs!

end-use performance!

99% of the time - we make something out of plastic because it is a cost effective manufacturing method

WORKING TOGETHER

© 2014 Eric R. Larson, all rights reserved

ease of use and re-use !

Property Data WORKING TOGETHER

“The designer who has access to standard data sheet values only must use them cautiously as a source of design information. Many of the tests reported on the sheets come under the jurisdiction of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), and the properties are intended to characterize a material, not necessarily to provide design information.”

© 2016 Eric R. Larson, all rights reserved

- Engineered Materials Handbook, Volume 2, Engineering Plastics. ASM International

(formerly known as the American Society for Materials)

Simple Requests WORKING TOGETHER

Get Me Samples FAST Help Me Find The Right Data Help Me Get Your Brand Approved

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New Applications WORKING TOGETHER

PE foam, Surlyn film PE tubing

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Some Sample Projects WORKING TOGETHER

T he Good, The Bad, The Ugly

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WORKING TOGETHER

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WORKING TOGETHER

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WORKING TOGETHER

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Your Supply Chain Network WORKING TOGETHER

Building Relationships Three Dreaded Words Saying Thank You BFF?

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NEW APPLICATIONS

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NEW APPLICATIONS

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New Applications NEW APPLICATIONS

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Idea People Worker Bees, Cost Cutters Well Managed Companies Industry Innovators

Don’t Hang Out With Toads 

THE LESSONS

image courtesy of Terry Priest flickr.com/artfarmerwww.frfly.com

Material Selection Methods

THE CHALLENGE

Based on Data

Based on Experience

Based on Familiarity

Based on Feel

Based on Other Applications

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You Are Not Selling Materials,

You are Selling Solutions 

REMEMBER

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Start With The Familiar 

Learn A New Language ( or two . . . )  

Meet The Family

Learn to Work Together 

 Don’t Hang Out With Toads

THE LESSONS

© 2016 Eric R. Larson, all rights reserved

www . art of mass production . com

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