Once occupying a smaller role in the plastics industry, thermoset plastics technology has increasingly become important to designers and users who work in specialty applications. Countless goods, from toys to medical devices, and from automotive to sports and recreation products, are being manufactured using thermoset plastics. In fact, the importance and contributions of unsaturated polyesters, urethanes, and epoxy thermosets have driven unprecedented sales and production figures that place them within the definition of commodity materials.

This handbook offers a survey of thermoset technology, providing the reader with the practical implications of crosslinking, as well as establishing relationships among time, temperature, and mass — factors often overlooked in the general overviews allotted to thermoset plastics. It is written so that both non-specialists and specialists can follow along easily, while making in-depth data available for those who wish to expand their knowledge into new areas of expertise.

From the Preface: “...Although grounded in polymer chemistry and science, the treatments presented here do not require expertise in these disciplines. It is sufficient for the reader to understand the general principles in the introduction, i.e., learn the jargon, and he/she can proceed to any specific chapter for the information sought. If there is to be a consistent thread throughout each chapter, it is that thermoset plastics are materials of construction, subject to strengths and weaknesses, as well as proper use and misuse...”

Target Audience: Engineers and technicians; scientists and researchers; and upper-level students concerned with thermoset plastics.

Table of Contents:

Introduction

Phenol—Formaldehyde

Amino and Furan Resins

Unsaturated Polyester and Vinyl Ester Resins

Allyls

Epoxy Resins

Thermoset Polyurethanes

High Performance Polyimides and Related Thermoset Polymers: Past and Present Development, and Future Research Direction

Silicones

Crosslinked Thermoplastics

Index