plastics

[Phil Bondi]

Les,

Is the writer of the article a Chemical Engineer?..what are his or her
credentials as far as Plastics Engineering?

(Conrad, 40 regular please.)

For 11 years, I worked in a "plastics" plant..I did everything from your
basic grunt labor to management. The word 'plastic' brings to most peoples
minds something that will eventually 'fail'. That's because, in the
beginning, there was little to no 'real' engineering and research going on.
Plastic was replacing wood, metal, etc. The plastic elbows that we all know
and love that were/are on various spinets ARE going to fail. The
'replacement' parts for those elbows, the acrylic, will probably outlive
most, if not, all of us.

(I'd really like to know the writer's credentials).

Anyway, Plastic is Plastic, right?..that's like saying Wood is Wood.

If you look within 2 feet of your monitor, you will see 'plastic' in its
different capacities..Your monitor is made up of plastic..my in/out box is
made of 'plastic, but a much lower grade of plastic..and this is the basis
of my post:

Until people know plastic like they know wood, plastic will be plastic..and
that's like saying Oak is the same as Pine..but see, now I am getting into
different 'grades' of wood.

People know the names ABS and Lexan..Dow Chemical..those are the 'names'
that most people are familiar with. Comparing ABS and Lexan is like
comparing Mahogany and Maple. Both have their own characteristics, correct?
They're both 'wood' right?

Your monitor is made with a higher grade of plastic than your CPU. Why?
Heat. Your monitor, according to UL, must have a certain amount of Flame
Retardant included in the chemical process. Your CPU may have a little, but
no where near the same as the monitor.

>From my own experiences with pianos, which is getting less limited weekly,
there is some good R&D going into the manufacturing and the replacement of
wood with plastic. I recently saw a Knight Console with "plastic" whippens.
Those whippens were made of a good grade of plastic..I believe they will be
around for awhile.

I will admit that the one thing that is easier to do with wood than plastic
is to make a glue repair. Plastic, as I know it to be, can not have the same
pourous charateristics as wood..hence, when a plastic part breaks, it's best
to just replace it.

Les, I could go on for hours on this subject. Hopefully, what I have said
here will bring to light a little different perspective for those who are of
the belief that 'plastic is junk'. If that were the case, then the Saturn
Car Company would not be using 'plastic' for their exterior body parts...and
yes, I was on the ground floor of the engineering of that 'plastic', and I'm
damn proud of what were able to accomplish.

Roo(k)