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Michael Sepe Independent Consultant
MATERIALS: The Problems with Single-Point Data
Engineers who are used to working with metals are surprised that plastics cannot operate as close to their yield points as can metals. The yield point is not enough to tell you how the material reacts to stress.
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MATERIALS: The Problems with Single-Point Data
Properties are generally provided at a single temperature on a data sheet. But do those properties stay the same with changing temperatures? Of course not.
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MATERIALS: The Trouble with Data Sheets
Data sheets are routinely relied upon, yet the data they provide is limited in scope and can lead to incorrect conclusions.
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Materials: Analyzing Filler Content
The process is considered simple. But things aren’t always as they seem.
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MATERIALS: Analysis Gone Wrong: Part 2
But even misinterpreted tests can yield an approximation of the real composition of the material.
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MATERIALS: Analysis Gone Wrong
A lot of resources are devoted each year to trying to figure out why products fail. Sometimes it’s because no one involved in a project realizes the data provided was wrong.
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The Mystery Of Physical Aging, Part 3: Accelerated Aging Tests
Accelerated aging tests relied on by industries such as medical take into account only chemical aging—oxidation—and ignore physical aging.
Read MoreThe Mystery of Physical Aging, Part 2: Slow Down Aging
Dimensional and property changes depend on the size of the part, molecular weight of the resin, and processing conditions.
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The Mystery of Physical Aging, Part 1: Knowing the Difference
In polymers, aging is commonly considered essentially synonymous with oxidation. But there are important differences between this type of chemical aging and less commonly recognized physical aging. Let’s unlock the mystery.
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MATERIALS: Don’t Guess Your Way through Root Cause Analysis: Part 2
The huge chasm between the laboratory and manufacturing discipline usually does not lend itself to problem-solving. It can be improved with clear communication between the analysis laboratory and the people bringing the problem to the lab.
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MATERIALS: Don’t Guess Your Way Through Root Cause Analysis
More than 50 different polymer test techniques can be used to find root causes of problems. Of these, five or six are fairly common. Use them to take the guesswork out of why a product failed.
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MATERIALS: Performance in Polyethylene: Density Matters: Part II
Remembering the case of the failed gas tanks.
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