Engineering materials commonly known as plastics, rubbers, and adhesives are all correctly referred to as polymers.
Over 15,000 different types of polymers are commercially available and are categorised into 20 different families.
Introduction
Engineering materials commonly known as plastics, rubbers, and adhesives are all correctly referred to as polymers.
Structure and form
Polymers are a range of materials that are composed of long chains of repeating molecules called monomers. The long molecular chains intertwine to form complex compositional arrangements.
Design
There are a number of methods commonly employed in industry to alter the key properties of polymers.
Forming methods
There are a number of different methods that are commonly used for forming of polymers. These methods rely to a large extent on whether the polymer is a thermoplastic or thermoset.