Bioabsorbable plastics

Plastics that carry out their vital function in the body and dissolve afterwards, e.g., dissolvable stitches

© Tangram Technology

Biocompatibility of plastics

Biocompatibility describes how a material performs when it is exposed to the body or bodily fluids

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Colouring of plastics

The fundamentals of colour and colour measurement and how plastics are coloured

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Costing of plastics parts

The effect of material cost, tolerances and processing method on the cost of plastics products

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Crystallinity and plastics

Crystallinity is probably the fundamental division in plastics, this is a vital concept

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Design guides for plastics

A set of the best design formulae and rules for plastics product design, produced by Clive Maier

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Design questions for plastics

An ‘aide memoire’ on the questions that need to be asked for every plastics product design

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Dielectricity and plastics

The dielectric (insulation) properties of plastics make electricity and modern society possible

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Electrospinning of plastics

Need a face mask in the middle of a virus pandemic? Electrospinning is your answer

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EMI shielding of plastics

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) minimisation for devices containing plastics

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Engineering thermoplastics

Plastics capable of carrying a significant load and also more expensive and less common

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Failure of plastics (mechanical)

The modes of mechanical failure in plastics, the factors affecting it and the ductile-brittle transition

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Fillers for performance

Fillers in plastics can provide improved performance and not simply reduce costs

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Flammability of plastics

The basics of fire and testing for burning behaviour and flammability with plastics

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Friction and wear of plastics

The basics of friction and wear (tribology) in plastics and the test methods for these

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Heat shrink plastics

The basics of heat shrink products and how they use advanced concepts in plastics processing

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High temperature plastics

The service temperature limits for plastics and the tests that define these

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Identification of plastics

A simple flow chart of tests to identify most of the common types of plastics

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Impact and plastics

Why failure is sometimes ‘brittle’ and sometimes ‘ductile’ and what affects the change

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Introduction to extrusion

The basics of the fundamental processing method for plastics, it seems simple but it isn’t!

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Introduction to thermoplastics

The basic properties, applications  and processing of thermoplastics

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Joining plastics

A review of the wide range of joining methods that can be used to join plastcs and other materials together

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Labour costs don’t matter

Why labour costs don’t matter any more and what does matter in the modern world

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Low temperature plastics

What a low temperature for plastics is and how these affect the mechanical properties

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Optical clarity of plastics

I can see clearly now! This is due to my PMMA lenses which rely on the optical clarity of plastics

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Periodic table of thermoplastics

On a plane (somewhere over the USA), I dreamt of Mendeleev (true geek – full version)

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Periodic table of thermoplastics

The version for people who don’t want to know about properties (reduced version)

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Plastics electronics

Plastics are excellent insulators but they can also conduct electricity and be semi-conductors

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Plastics timeline

Plastics have a long history of accidental discoveries where great men turned accident into reality

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Polymer chemistry

The chemistry of turning monomers into polymers using step and chain polymerisation

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Polymer names

Plastics names may seem confusing but they are very logical and the naming system makes them easy to find

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Polymer structures

The chemical structure of a polymer determines the mechanical properties

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Pultrusion

A variation on extrusion using glass or other fibres as reinforcement in a polyester or other resin matrix

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Risk assessment

Risk assessment is a process of logically assessing the risks in a process to reduce or control these

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Shrinkage in plastics

The shrinkage of plastics after processing affects all plastics to varying degrees

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SPC essentials

A short ‘cheat sheet’ on the essentials of capability studies and control charts for variables

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SPC training course (Part 1)

PowerPoint on control charts for trainers to carry out a 1-hour training session

© Tangram Technology

SPC training course (Part 2)

PowerPoint on analysing control charts for trainers to carry out a 1-hour training session

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Static electricity and plastics

Plastic combs can be used to pick up bits of paper but it is more complicated than that

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Sterilisation of plastics

The ability of a plastic medical product to be sterilised is a key selection criterion

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Strength and stiffness

Strength and stiffness are two of the defining characteristics of all materials

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Thermal degradation

Thermal degradation can present an upper limit to the service temperature of plastics

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Thermoplastics families

There is order to the apparent chaos of thermoplastics and this is the framework

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Weathering of plastics

The weathering of plastics is an important factor in selecting for outdoor applications

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Wood-plastic composites

WPCs are a new group of materials blending the properties of wood and plastics

© Tangram Technology