Manufacturing Technology Tutorials
The Two Main Groups of Plastics
From a manufacturing perspective, plastics are divided into two main groups:
Theromplastics: Heat makes thermoplastics soft. When thermoplastics cool, they harden. Some common thermoplastics include:
acrylic
poloypropylene
polyvinyl acetate
polystyrene
teflon
Thermosets: These plastics harden when heated. Examples include:
polyurethen
epoxy
bakelite