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Acrylic vs. Polycarbonate

February 17, 2022 6:34 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Want to know the difference between acrylic and polycarbonate? These two top choices for plastic fabrication—acrylic sheets and polycarbonate panels—are ideal for use in a broad range of applications. They’re both lightweight materials (typically half the weight of comparably-sized sheets of glass), and they both offer incredible strength and flexibility. Read on to discover some of the key similarities and differences between these two products. Acrylic plastic Acrylic plastic is a general term for a variety of plastics marketed under trademark names including Plexiglas, Lucite, Perspex, Altuglas, Polycast and more. Most people typically associate Plexiglas with acrylic plastic, but each trademark product has slightly different characteristics. Acrylic plastic is a polymer—a material made of various materials linked together in long... View Article


How to Develop a Plastic Prototype for the First Time

February 3, 2022 6:34 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Have a product idea in mind and want to turn it into a reality? The plastic fabrication process is ideal if you’re looking to create quick, useful prototypes to test out your designs. Here’s a brief guide on how to develop a plastic prototype for the first time. Refine your concept No matter what type of product you’re designing, the first step in the prototyping process is getting your ideas down on paper. Create a concept sketch of your idea to help you visualize the final product in detail. While you can use digital tools for this step, it’s often easier to create rapid rough sketches rather than investing your time perfecting a rendering. Create a CAD model After you... View Article


Understanding the Thermoforming Process

January 18, 2022 8:22 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Thermoforming is the process of heating a material to its forming temperature before molding the material into a desired shape. The ancient Romans were actually the first people to use thermoforming by soaking turtle shells in hot water to make them pliable enough to form bowls and eating utensils. Nowadays, we practice plastic thermoforming every day at D&D Plastics. With plastics, we stretch a plastic sheet over a mold and warm the sheet until it becomes pliable. Once it’s warm, it’s applied to the mold using a vacuum, air pressure or even a second mold. After the plastic cools and hardens, we cut it into pieces and ship them out. This is a fast process that we rely on for... View Article


The Importance of Engineering for Plastic Injection Molding

January 4, 2022 8:22 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Most people take their plastic items for granted and don’t give much thought to how they’re engineered and manufactured. As a plastic design company, we obviously see plastics from a different perspective, but we think that everyone should see the beauty that goes into the plastic injection molding process. Keep reading to learn more about the engineering behind plastic injection molding: Part design and prototyping: Design engineers help determine a plastic part’s shape; areas where strength or flexibility might be an issue; how it fits with other parts and much more. They also modify a design as needed to ensure it’s actually moldable before creating a prototype for the design. Choosing a plastic resin: The resin affects everything from the... View Article


What Is Plastic Fabrication? An Overview

December 21, 2021 12:01 am Published by Leave your thoughts

The term plastic fabrication refers to the processes of designing and manufacturing products made out of a plastic-based material or composites that contain plastic. There are many different methods of plastic fabrication, each of which has its own inherent advantages and disadvantages. All of them, however, are used because of the properties of plastic itself, including its cost-effectiveness and malleability. Let’s take a quick look at some of the most common forms of plastic product fabrication and what’s involved with them: Plastic welding: Plastic welding is similar to metallic welding in that it involves melting a couple workpieces to combine them with the formation of a molecular bond. A filler material must be used in this process to fuse the... View Article