What exactly are thermoplastics?
Thermoplastics are a variation of plastic material that can be easily manipulated through temperature controls, softening when heated and hardening when cooled. They’re incredibly malleable and are widely popular among a broad range of manufacturers, who favour them due to their speedy processing and diverse usability.
Those who choose thermoplastics as their material of choice are able to achieve a huge variety of results with this ever so forgiving material, which can be reworked and repurposed time and time again. Incredibly, thermoplastics can be treated accordingly in order to be soft, flexible and rubbery, or as strong and as solid as aluminium, rendering them suitable for a huge diversity of industry use.
The top three benefits of using thermoplastics
Highly recyclable and eco friendly
Thermoplastics are an environmentally sound solution to many of the challenges now faced in manufacturing, as consumers call for greater conscientiousness from the plastics industry.
Amazingly, due to the properties of thermoplastics, multiple cycles of heating and cooling can be repeated without degrading the quality of the material or altering its properties indefinitely. As such, the materials can be reprocessed, recycled and repurposed, over and over again. Ace!
Additionally, thermoplastics contain no VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) and create no hazardous wastes to dispose of. What’s more, thermoplastic waste itself can be repurposed in your production processes. Instead of discarding material waste, you can recover and remelt that waste in future cycles of molding.
So they really are a win-win for all.
Durable and resistant
Thermoplastics are highly impact resistant and can therefore have a far longer service life than their alternatives. Seeing as though they don’t dint, crack or splinter, manufacturers will face far, far fewer obstacles in production when using thermoplastics.
What’s more, the toughness of thermoplastics can be even greater improved through the addition of a high-quality Masterbatch, such as those available through reputable and longstanding manufacturers Abbey Masterbatch.
Standout colour and effects
Aesthetically superior finishes can 100% be achieved through the use of thermoplastics, which are coloured during the manufacturing process allowing for consistent colour affects.
Even better, most thermoplastics can be custom coloured in-house when they’re being processed further down the line by employing the addition of a Masterbatch, either in solid or liquid form. It’s worth noting that solid Masterbatch is the most popular option, with around 60% of all in-house
colouring being achieved through the use of solid Masterbatch products.
To conclude
So, there we have it. We hope you’ve gained something from this quick little roundup of the benefits of using thermoplastics.
Whilst we believe the benefits of thermoplastics largely speak for themselves, it is important to bear in mind that one material is not necessarily superior over another, and it is more about finding out which material is best for your needs, taking into account your budget, requirements and supply chain, to name just a few factors.
