Osborne Company News and Industry Updates

Custom injection molding and die-cast molding have been compared for decades. When it comes down to a side-by-side comparison, companies that convert from metal to plastic experience many benefits from the transition. Plastic components are superior to metal in more ways than one, including strength and impact resistance, weight, and design flexibility. We break down each major component to keep in mind when considering a metal to plastic conversion. Read more >

Abrasion-resistant plastics with a low coefficient of friction are highly sought after materials for use in a wide variety of industrial applications. Plastic components that require contact with mating surfaces must offer outstanding resistance to wear, along with displaying long life and high performance under constant friction. Plastics that are abrasion resistant are designed to retain their appearance, and also reduce costs associated with maintenance, wear and tear, and the subsequent system downtime that would follow. Read more >

Plasticizers are non-volatile chemical solvents used throughout the plastics industry to increase such properties as flexibility, pliability, durability, longevity, biodegradability, and extensibility in polymers. When added to a plastic or elastomer, plasticizers affect the properties of the material without fundamentally changing its basic chemical makeup. It also helps to improve a product’s elastic modulus upon completion. By modifying the type or amount of plasticizer, properties can be tailored to meet requirements like high tensile strength or even soften the material. Read more >

Weather-resistant plastics have superior durability suited for extensive outdoor applications. These plastics have been widely adopted over the past century. The development of weather-resistant plastics has been one of the major innovations in material science, supplanting traditional materials like metal, glass, wood, and cotton. The appeal of many plastics stems from their better resistance to environmental degradation over time. The wide variety of material properties of plastics make them exceptionally adaptive for many different applications. It’s also safe for humans and is cost-effective. Read more >

The primary challenge in distinguishing an elastomer vs polymer is that elastomers are a subset of polymers. When you hear the word ‘elastomer,’ think ‘elastic,’ for the term is in fact derived from ‘elastic polymer.’ The elasticity of elastomers is a good reason why this particular polymer is often used interchangeably with the word, ‘rubber.’ Nevertheless, an elastomer is a polymer with viscoelasticity, having properties of both viscosity and elasticity. Below, we break down the primary differences between elastomer vs polymer.

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The manufacturing of plastic parts and products is an integral part of the global economy. A variety of plastic fabrication methods are performed to manufacture components for every industrial sector—medical and pharmaceutical, aerospace, shipping and packaging, electronics and electrical, automotive, transportation, durable goods and household items, construction, heavy equipment, agriculture, and so much more.

There are many types of plastic molding and methods used in manufacturing. Which plastic fabrication method is used depends on such factors as the product or part itself, its application, its size and shape, whether it requires thermoset or thermoplastic material, or high or low volume production rates. The following five plastic fabrication methods offer examples of the different kinds of plastic molding used for different manufacturing processes. Read more >

Extreme heat resistance is one of the defining properties of high temperature plastic known as thermosets. Long touted for their light-weight and chemical-resistant properties, it is the high heat-resistance that makes the performance of thermoset plastics exceptional in demanding applications and environments.

Why Thermosets are the Best Temperature-Resistant Plastics

Several decades ago, the thermoplastics in use held promise as an inexpensive alternative, if not substitute, for metal, wood, or glass. Effective as the thermoplastics were, environmental factors like heat caused thermal degradation and wear. Though much lighter, the older-generation polymers could not provide the heat resistance that ceramics and metals could. Under high temperature conditions their performance was, overall, ineffective. The advance of thermoset plastics in the 1990s overcame these restraints, providing a higher degree of reliability, durability, and performance than the older polymers could. Read more >