05/10/2022
By Jacqueline White
Join Plastics Engineering Professor Steve Driscoll for an upcoming webinar, Competitive Pros and Cons of Transparent Plastics.
When: Thursday, May 19, 2022
Time: 8:30 – 9:30 AM ET
This webinar is offered by UMass Lowell in technical partnership with Plastindia International University.
Overview:
Since the 1860s development of Cellulose Nitrate by the Hyatt brothers, followed by the commercialization of acrylics by the two Otto’s—Rohm and Haas in the mid-1910s—and then the 20’s -‘30s, and ‘40s introduction of vinyls, olefins, and styrenics…as well as the unique thermoplastic and thermosetting silicones and polyurethanes…there has been a 150 year history of a great number of transparent plastics.
Clarity is a function of the polymeric amorphous and semi-crystalline structure, in-line and post-processing thermal treatments. Polymeric material selection is also dependent on pricing, raw material costs, polymerization demands, and technical enhancement via compounding / polymer modification, product design, and processing optimization.
This brief overview will clarify the competitive pros and cons of many commercial polymer families that have targeted the packaging, medical, optical, electronic, and transportation global industries.
Learning Outcomes:
- How to identify potential material candidates based on identified end-use functional properties, balanced with price and processability as well as design options
- How to compare potential polymeric materials for specific commercial applications and end-uses
Please register online.