plastics

[Lynn Rosenberg]

Well, I have a question about plastic.  I think plastic is a good idea..
Why did Gm discontinue the Chevrolet Lumina van??? The body of thos was
plastic, the same material that Saturn still uses.  I'm told that they
couldn't turn those pannels out fast enough.   Are they trying to come up
with a better way??? I have one of those vans and the plastic body was the
main reason I bought one, because of not rusting.  What about using plastic
action rails?? Lynn Rosenberg
----- Original Message -----
From: Phil Bondi <tito@PhilBondi.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Sunday, December 03, 2000 4:22 PM
Subject: Re: plastics


> 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)
>
>
>
>