The Plastics Performance Iceberg -Proper Material Data Assessment

Hello and welcome to a new post. Today we discuss the so called Plastics Performance Iceberg. 

As shown in Figure 1 below, at the top of the Iceberg we have the standardized ASTM and ISO test data of polymers. They are very useful for having a first look at possible plastics and first screening during your material selection process.  It allows a quick comparison of different polymers to each other. However such data just represent the tip of the material data iceberg. Below the water line there are several more invisible data which need to be considered. Therefore it is important to capture information such as chemical exposure in the requirement list of your part. 

Figure 1: The Plastics Performance Iceberg - ASTM/ISO vs. Real World Data

I made a training video on this topic too, where we discuss material data, especially ASTM/ISO data vs. the real world. We have a look at the obstacles and how to remove them. 

Thanks for reading!

Greetings and #findoutaboutplastics

Herwig Juster

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