There’s no doubt there are a lot of applications where plastic raw material can be helpful. Most of the time, a list of possible candidates is narrowed down to two or three, followed by a test.
However, these are the six most commonly used materials offered by plastic raw material Manufacturer:
- Polypropylene (PP)
- Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS)
- Polyamide (Nylon)
- High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
- Polycarbonate (PC)
- ABS + PC Blend (mostly used for electronics enclosures)
In this article, we will talk about the hardness, flexibility, weight, and cost of each category. We’ll look at the main properties of these six categories since each has thousands of variations.
Hardness
First, look at the hardness property and see how each material category compares. It is common to test a material’s hardness using a device that measures shore hardness, divided into type A and type D, respectively, for softer and harder plastics.
These types are rated from 0 to 100 on a scale of zero to one. It is also popularly known as Shore hardness, after Albert Shore, who developed the durometer scale to measure material hardness. Now let’s look at how day-to-day things around us stack up:
| Hardness | Application |
| 30 Shore A | Art Gum Erasers |
| 35 Shore A | Rubber bands |
| 40 Shore A | Can Tester Pads |
| 50 Shore A | Rubber Stamps |
| 55 Shore A | Pencil erasers |
| 65 Shore A | Car tyres |
| 80 Shore A | Shoe soles |
| 60 Shore D | Golf balls |
The table shows that plastic raw material suppliers use different materials for different things. You should choose the right material for the right product, considering the usage, environment, type of abrasion, and overall user experience.
Flexibility of materials
It’s a common misconception that all soft materials are flexible and all hard materials are stiff. There are soft and flexible materials; you need to know the difference. The stiffness of a material determines its resistance to bending under stress. For example, compare an ABS ruler with a Nylon ruler. Even though ABS has a higher hardness, a nylon ruler would be more difficult to bend than an ABS ruler.”
Weight of material
Material selection is also influenced by the weight of the material. It is the density of a plastic polymer that ultimately determines the weight or lightness of its final product. You can also ask about material weight from plastic raw material suppliers.
Material cost
Indeed, the cost of materials is an important consideration when producing a plastic injection-moulded product, but the material selection should be based on application rather than price alone. Thus, consider asking about the price from a plastic raw material dealer.
Conclusion
Each material category has its unique characteristics; therefore, paying attention to each category’s overall defining characteristics is essential.
We should never forget that if a material lacks certain properties, it can be reduced with additives and fillers to make it more efficient. This is how there are over 85,000 types of plastic.
Contact Plastic Dealers if you are looking for bulk plastic raw material. We are the best plastic raw material manufacturer, and our low prices have helped us gain a solid position in the market.
