Take a tour of an old house, an old boat, or an old car sometime and you’ll notice they didn’t have plastic items. It wasn’t really until the 1960s that plastics became en vogue, and today they’re literally everywhere.
The Proliferation of Plastic Parts
Designers are always trying to come up with improved shapes, designs, performance, and materials, all at a “lower cost,” right? Well, plastic parts are becoming increasingly popular thanks to design opportunities of today. With the technology available, and the brainpower of many people working on coming up with creative and smart solutions to various problems, we see plastics becoming a choice material to work with for a variety of applications and purposes, including parts for various machines and such.
In the old days, most things were made with metal. However, metal isn’t nearly as flexible as plastic, right? Today’s manufacturers are considering metal-to-plastic conversion options, more and more, because the switch can save them up to 50 percent in operational costs. Best of all, using plastic parts won’t compromise function or quality, so this is a win-win idea.
Plastic has a comparable-to-metal tensile strength but is up to 50 percent lighter weight-wise. Meanwhile, when making plastic parts, it’s a highly repeatable process which means less scrap. Furthermore, say you’re making plastic tools instead of metal– they’ll have up to six times longer life! So that’s a nice bonus. And, of course, plastic offers greater design flexibility.
Injection-molded plastic parts don’t need fasteners and assembly. Colors can be added to the plastic melt so the secondary step of painting gets eliminated. And, most importantly, plastic is cheaper than metal, cost-wise, and that’s why it keeps on increasing in popularity. Is it any wonder you see plastic kayaks in the water? Or plastic pool ladders? Plastic is so versatile.
Do you have questions about plastic parts? Call Bridgville Plastics at 269-465-6516.