Plastic Story
Plastics Stories
Plastic Story
About Plastics
Remarkable progress in science and technology has empowered us to imagine new things and explore greater possibilities. Plastics are one of the most fascinating materials created by the power of modern science and technology.
Plastics are polymeric materials that can be molded by applying heat and pressure. There are two types of polymers: natural resins and synthetic resins. However, the term “plastic” usually refers to synthetic resins derived from petroleum.
Thanks to modern science, petroleum, a scarce resource, is transformed into a series of rice-grain-shaped plastic raw materials called pellets. Plastic products are formed by processing and molding these pellets.
Among the various molding methods, injection molding process is the most rational way to mold plastics with high precision. Today, more than 2/3 of all plastic products are molded by injection molding machines. A liquid is transformed into pellets, and these small pellets are processed and molded into an infinite number of shapes. Plastics are miraculous materials that can shape shift, just as if it were mutating.
NISSEI’s highly-advanced injection molding machines and its technologies can form plastics into a variety of shapes.
Plastics are used in many applications in our daily lives, replacing traditional natural materials such as steel, wood, and glass. So what are plastics, and what kind of properties do they possess?
Properties of Plastics
One of the most notable properties of plastics is its ability to change forms when heat is applied. This allows plastics to be formed into a variety of shapes while being easily mass produced. Plastics are also lightweight, durable, and transparent, and these can be colored freely. Plastics possess excellent electrical insulation, thermal insulation, and hygienic properties. Some of newly developed plastics have the same strength as metal and are heat and impact resistant. On contrary, plastics that are soft as human skin also have been developed and are being utilized in a variety of fields.
Raw Material of Plastics
Plastics are derived from petroleum, which is considered a scarce resource. A liquid called naphtha, which is distilled from crude oil at refineries, is the raw material for plastics.
Naphtha is transformed into a substance called polymer, and the polymer into pellets, which are then processed into products at molding plants.
Types of Plastics
There are two main types of plastics: thermoplastics and thermosetting plastics.
A thermoplastic melts and softens when heat is applied and solidifies when cooled in a mold. It becomes soft again when it is reheated.
A thermosetting plastics, like thermoplastics, melts and flows into a mold when heat is applied. When heat is applied further, it solidifies. Once it is solidified, it does not be softened when it is reheated.
Plastics: Resource and Energy Saving Materials
It is commonly misunderstood that a large amount of petroleum is used to create plastics. However, in reality, plastics account for only about 7% of total petroleum use.
If no plastic is available, and we need to substitute everything with other materials, we would need more resources than ever before, wasting far more petroleum than using plastics.
Plastics: Human and Nature Friendly Materials
Because of its durability and corrosion resistance, plastics has an image of not being friendly to the environment. Today, however, used plastics are efficiently being reutilized to heat buildings and water by incineration process as well as reheated and melted to make nail stakes, benches, and other recycled products.
In addition, biodegradable and plant-based plastics, which have the property of being decomposed by microorganisms and returned to the soil, have been developed, attracting wide attentions as human and nature friendly materials.