Going nerdy on plastic Let’s get some in-depth knowledge about this abundant material. When did plastic arrive in our society, how did it grow from a small niche material to being available in every corner of the world? We’ll cover some history, and them some science, and why we work with thermoplastics only. We’ll go over the industrial production methods as well as what happens after it’s discarded. After reading this you’ll be the geeky plastic guy or gal (just like Jerry) Read More »

Melting temperatures There are different types of plastic and one reason why it’s so important to separate them is because of their melting temperatures. They all reach a liquid state at a different heat. In order to make new high quality items it’s important to know at what temperature each plastic melts as well as at what temperatures different types can be moulded. MATERIAL MELT TEMPERATURE RANGE (℃) MOULD TEMPERATURE RANGE (℃) MELT TEMPERATURE RANGE (℉) MOULD TEMPERATURE RANGE (℉) ABS 190-270 40-80 374-518 104-176 ABS/PC ALLOY 245-265 40-80 473-509 104-176 ACETAL 180-210 50-120 356-410 122-248 ACRYLIC 220-250 50-80 428-482 122-176 CAB 170-240 40-50 338-464 104-122 HDPE 210-270 20-60 410-518 68-140 LDPE 180-240 20-60 356-464 68-140 NYLON 6 230-290 40-90 446-554 104-194 NYLON 6 (30% GF) 250-290 50-90 482-554 122-194 NYLON 6/6 270-300 40-90 518-572 104-194 NYLON 6/6 (33% GF) 280-300 40-90 536-572 104-194 NYLON 11 220-250 40-110 428-482 104-230 NYLON 12 190-200 40-110 374-392 104-230 PEEK 350-390 120-160 662-734 248-320 POLYCARBONATE 280-320 85-120 536-608 185-248 POLYESTER PBT 240-275 60-90 464-527 140-194 PET (SEMI CRYSTALLINE) 260-280 20-30 500-536 68-86 PET (AMORPHOUS) 260-280 20-30 500-536 68-86 POLYPROPYLENE (COPOLYMER) 200-280 30-80 392-536 86-176 POLYPROPYLENE (HOMOPOLYMER) 200-280 30-80 392-536 86-176 POLYPROPYLENE (30% TALC FILLED) 240-290 30-50 464-554 86-122 POLYPROPYLENE (30% GF) 250-290 40-80 482-554 104-176 POLYSTYRENE 170-280 30-60 338-536 86-140 POLYSTYRENE (30% GF) 250-290 40-80 482-554 104-176 PVC P 170-190 20-40 338-374 68-104 PVC U 160-210 20-60 320-410 68-140 SAN 200-260 50-85 392-500 122-185 SAN (30% GF) 250-270 50-70 482-518 122-158 TPE 260-320 40-70 500-608 104-158 What is plastic? Read More »

Safety and Fumes It’s important to take this seriously. Safety is a huge topic when working with plastic, it’s extremely important to take the right precautions - then you are completely safe. We’ll walk through the dangers of fume exposure and which plastics are unsafe to work with, and we’ll go through how we set up our filtration systems at Precious Plastic. Tip : Try to melt your plastic at the lowest temperature possible and for the shortest amount of time. Read More »