JIM’S BUZZWORD OF THE MONTH: (November 01, 2008)

A broadly defined and often misused term describing any resin (normally restricted to thermoplastics) that have better physical, chemical, electrical or thermal properties when compared to commodity resins like polystyrene, polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). “Engineering plastic” is not restricted to straight resins or alloys, blends or copolymers. ABS, for example, is a copolymer, while polycarbonate (PC) is a neat resin. Both can be considered “engineering plastics.”