What does the prefix "poly" mean?
Many
True or false: all polymers are plastic
False: all plastics are polymers, but not all polymers are plastic (DNA, cellulose, protein)
True or false: plastic materials we sell can also be referred to as thermoplastics, polymers, and resin
True
Which materials are typically transparent?
Amorphous resins
True or false: CPS makes their own plastics
False, though we do have blend capabilities
What does the suffix "mer" mean?
Unit or part
10000+
What are the two types of plastics?
2. Thermoset
What does thou mean?
Thousandths of an inch, used for shrinkage values (0.010 in/in would be 10 thou shrinkage)
Name 1 of our 2 top sellers for material
ABS & nylon
What does the prefix "mono" mean?
One
What is the name of the process that makes plastic polymers?
Polymerization
What are the two types of thermoplastics?
1. Semi-crystalline
2. Amorphous
What is the difference between HDPE & LDPE?
LDPE is branched allowing for more space between the chains resulting in a lower density
What type of material does CPS not sell?
Thermoset resins
What does the prefix "a" or "an" mean?
No, not, or without
What are the two common types of polymerization?
Addition & condensation
What are the three main buckets of material classification from the plastic pyramid?
1. Commodity
2. Engineering
3. Specialty
On a molecular level, how are semi-crystalline materials different from amorphous resins?
SC materials have tight, dense regions of crystals providing some structure, whereas amorphous materials have no structure to them
CPS is focused on being what type of material distributor? (Think material pyramid)
Engineering & specialty
What does the suffix "morphous" mean?
Shape, form, or structure
What are the three things that determine a plastic's properties?
1. Chemical composition
2. Alignment of chains
3. Shape of chains
What type of plastic goes through a chemical change when processed? Which goes through a physical-only change?
Chemical = thermoset (forming covalent bonds during curing)
Physical = thermoplastic
What does hygroscopic mean?
Absorbs moisture from the air
CPS has what they call a power 6 of our suppliers, which suppliers are part of that?
APM, ENV, SHPP, LGC, SYQ, Elastron