Engineering plastics refer to a class of high-performance polymers that can be used as structural materials, capable of enduring mechanical stresses within a broad temperature range and operating in harsh chemical and physical environments. Based on usage, properties, and application scope, engineering plastics can be divided into general engineering plastics and specialty engineering plastics. Below is a detailed introduction to the types of these two categories of engineering plastics.
I. General Engineering Plastics
General engineering plastics primarily include the following:
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Nylon (PA): Also known as polyamide, it is obtained through the polycondensation of dibasic acids with diamines or amino acids. It is a general term for resins with repeated amide groups [NHCO] in the molecular chain. Nylon possesses excellent comprehensive properties, including mechanical properties, heat resistance, wear resistance, chemical resistance, self-lubricating properties, and low friction coefficient. It also has a certain degree of flame retardancy, is easy to process, and is suitable for reinforcement and modification with glass fibers and other fillers to improve performance and expand its range of applications. Nylon is widely used in the automotive industry, machinery, electronics and electrical appliances, daily products, and chemical and building materials industries.
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Polycarbonate (PC): Also known as PC plastic, commonly known as “bulletproof plastic,” it is a transparent thermoplastic material with excellent overall performance. PC is odorless, tasteless, and non-toxic. It has excellent electrical properties, low water absorption, and small shrinkage rates, ensuring dimensional stability. It can be used to manufacture precision molded parts for electronic components and electric tools. PC also has outstanding impact resistance and can be used to manufacture parts for machinery, automobiles, and precision instruments.
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Polyoxymethylene (POM): Also known as polyformaldehyde, it is praised as “super steel” or “plastic steel.” POM exhibits excellent mechanical properties, electrical properties, wear resistance, dimensional stability, chemical resistance, and gas permeability. Its fatigue resistance is prominent, and it has good self-lubricating properties. It is an ideal engineering plastic to replace metals, especially non-ferrous metals such as copper, aluminum, and zinc. It is widely used in the automotive industry, machinery, electronics and electrical appliances, textiles, and other fields.
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Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT): It is an important thermoplastic polyester with high heat resistance, resistance to strong acids and bases, resistance to organic solvents, flammability, and decomposition at high temperatures. It is widely used in the automotive, machinery, precision instrument components, electronics and electrical appliances, textiles, and other fields.
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Polyphenylene Oxide (PPO): It has excellent dimensional stability and outstanding electrical insulation properties over long-term loads, with a wide range of use temperatures, from -127°C to 121°C for long-term use. In addition, it has excellent water and steam resistance, and products have high tensile strength and impact strength, as well as good wear resistance and electrical properties. It is mainly used to replace stainless steel in the manufacture of surgical medical instruments. In the mechanical and electrical industries, it can be used to make gears, blower blades, pipes, valves, screws, and other fasteners and connectors. It is also used to make components for electronics and electrical industries, such as coil bobbins and printed circuit boards.
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Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA): It is widely used in instrument parts, automotive headlights, optical lenses, transparent piping, etc.
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Modified Polypropylene (PP-Modified): It is a thermoplastic resin obtained through the polymerization of propylene. It has good chemical stability, heat resistance, electrical insulation, high hardness, rigidity, dimensional stability, and high wear resistance and processing performance. It is widely used in the automotive, computer, medical, electronics and electrical appliances, structural components for daily use, home appliance structural components, internal components for refrigerators, and other fields.
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ABS: Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene is a material with high temperature resistance, excellent gloss, and chemical resistance. It also has excellent hardness, rigidity, dimensional stability, and high load-bearing capacity. It is a material with readily available raw materials, good comprehensive performance, low price, and wide usage. It has been widely used in manufacturing industries such as machinery, electrical engineering, textiles, automobiles, airplanes, ships, and chemicals.
II. Specialty Engineering Plastics
Specialty engineering plastics refer to a class of engineering plastics with high comprehensive performance and a long-term use temperature above 150°C. They primarily include the following:
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Polyphenylene Sulfide (PPS): It has excellent heat resistance, corrosion resistance, radiation resistance, flame retardancy, balanced physical and mechanical properties, and excellent dimensional stability. It also has excellent electrical properties. It is widely used as a structural polymer material and is widely used as a specialty engineering plastic after filling and modification.
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Polyimide (PI): It is one of the polymers with the highest use temperatures among those already industrialized. Its decomposition temperature reaches 550600°C, and its long-term use temperature can reach 200380°C, with a short-term use temperature of up to 400°C. In addition, it has excellent dimensional and oxidative stability, radiation resistance, insulation properties, chemical resistance, wear resistance, and high strength. It is used in fields such as aerospace, microelectronics, liquid crystals, separation membranes, and lasers.
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Polyetheretherketone (PEEK): It has excellent comprehensive properties and can replace traditional materials such as metals and ceramics in many special fields. PEEK’s high temperature resistance, self-lubrication, wear resistance, and fatigue resistance make it one of the most popular high-performance engineering plastics today. It is mainly used in aerospace, automotive, electronics and electrical appliances, and medical equipment.
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Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP): It is an intermediate state polymer between solid crystals and liquids, with one-dimensional or two-dimensional orderliness. It is a new type of polymer material that generally exhibits liquid crystallinity in the molten state. It has high strength, high rigidity, high heat resistance, electrical insulation, and other excellent properties. It is used in fields such as electronics and electrical appliances, optical fibers, automobiles, and aerospace.
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Polysulfone (PSF): It has excellent mechanical properties, high rigidity, wear resistance, high strength, and maintains excellent mechanical properties even at high temperatures. The normal use range is from -100°C to 150°C, the long-term use temperature is 160°C, the short-term use temperature is 190°C, it has high thermal stability, resistance to hydrolysis, good dimensional stability, small molding shrinkage, non-toxicity, resistance to radiation, flame resistance, and self-extinguishing properties. It is mainly used in the electronics and electrical, food and daily use, automotive, aerospace, medical, and general industrial sectors.
In addition, engineering plastics also include Polyacetal (POM), Modified Polyphenylene Ether (PPE), Polyester (PETP, PBTP), Polyarylate, Unsaturated Polyester, Phenolic Plastics, Epoxy Plastics, Fluoroplastic, Polyamide-imide, Polyimide, Polybismaleimide, Polysulfone (PSF), PES, Acrylic Plastics, Modified Melamine Plastics, BT Resin, PEI, and other types.
