whats the best way to measure plastic

June 23, 2009 4:00 PM

in my work, there is a requirement to test two plastics and compare the properties for an automotive application. the testing is done by an external agency, with whom i have no background, and they just give a table of results. what tests are they doing, how do they do them, why do they do them, and what tricks should i be on the lookout for?

plastics at a basic level can seem to be spec'd quite similar, for instance two sources for thailand and china will say they give the same product. however additives, regrind, tolerance and production method lead to significant differences in the finished product.
there are a range of tests that are done on produced material to get a fuller understanding of what they are - crystalisation, true density, consistency, etc. I want to know what the full spectrum of these tests are for background knowledge.

posted by edtut to science & nature (2 comments total)

Testlopedia, the plastics testing encyclopedia
posted by gyusan at 4:07 PM on June 23

what an awesome one word answer.
posted by edtut at 4:35 PM on June 23 [1 favorite has favorites]