Tag Archives: plastics

We’re Surrounded by Plastics

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Michael Shade

If I were to look at the tag on my shirt’s collar, I’d probably see instructions for washing the shirt and some information about its composition. I happen to be in an office at the moment, so I can’t take off my shirt and look. But if memory serves, the shirt I’m wearing is composed of a mixture of cotton and polyester (and maybe a third ingredient – rayon or something like that). “Polyester” is a blanket term that can be used in reference to a few different kinds of polymers, though it’s most commonly used in reference to polyethylene terephthalate. You may know polyethylene terephthalate by its nickname: PET. If not, you’re certainly familiar with products composed of PET. Your soda bottles, your ketchup bottles, your mouthwash bottles and all manner of other bottle varieties are probably made of PET. You know PET as a variety of plastic. It’s likely that you think of plastics as non-metal, non-wood, non-stone, hard but sometimes flimsy things whose origin you’re not certain of but whose utility is eminently obvious. Continue reading →

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IQS Newsroom Featured Profile: Arizona Sealing Devices, Inc.

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Breana Cronk

A small business offering big results, Arizona Sealing Devices, Inc. has flourished on the founding principal of providing exceptional customer service, products and delivery to each and every customer. Though in 1989, the company began as a stocking distributor of mainly o-rings, their mission to provide high quality components and a progressive approach to customer service, led to a tremendous expansion in product offerings. More than just a list of products, the qualified professionals at Arizona Sealing Devices take the time to research the components they provide, as well as the applications they provide them for. Such reassurance and willingness to become actively involved in meeting and exceeding the expectations of every customer have attracted a long line of returning customers, referrals, and new business. Continue reading →

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IQS Newsroom Featured Profile: MOD Custom Rotomolding

Posted on October 8, 2010 by Breana Cronk

Nearly 80 years ago Edwin Meese founded Meese, Inc. in Madison, Indiana. Now known as the Meese Orbitron Dunne Company, often abbreviated MOD, Edwin’s vision has grown to become an award winning powerhouse in rotomolding and plastics design. MOD continually invests in the most sophisticated rotational molding equipment available to deliver ever superior product quality. MOD’s concern for quality reaches beyond manufacturing to the environment as they strive for improvements in energy and material efficiency. More than effective and efficient machinery and processes, MOD owes its many successes and accolades to the vast repertoire of talented and knowledgeable experts that have been a hallmark of the company since its earliest origins. Continue reading →

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The Ominous Connotations of Flexible Plastic Tubing in the Medical Field

Posted on May 14, 2010 by Rebekah Fuller

Was plastic tubing on your mind the last time you were either in the hospital or visiting a loved one? I know it didn’t register in my mind…’Hey, that flexible plastic tubing is helping my grandfather breathe’…as I held his hand and prayed that the seemingly inevitable wouldn’t happen after he had his second stroke. It is interesting, though, to look back and see how plastic tubing of pliability is used in medical and surgical applications. Now that I’m not overcome with such intense emotion, I remember that the nurses had to extract mucus from my grandpa’s throat utilizing a plastic tubing suction device. This gave him a little relief from all his distress while he was unconscious and helped keep his airways open, as did the tubing inserted in his nostrils and attached to the ventilator. Being connected to this life support machine, he was made comfortable by the morphine going into his veins. They upped the dosage being conveyed through the plastic intravenous or IV tube, and he slipped away and into God’s presence soon after he was transferred to hospice. Continue reading →

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The Phrases and Phases of Recycling

Posted on May 12, 2010 by Breana Cronk

Climate change, environmental impact and carbon footprint. These are just a few of the phrases haphazardly thrown around nowadays to assert the need for recycling programs across the nation and around the globe. One phrase often overlooked, however, is economic recession. While many assign credit for the environmental movement to the men and women of the 1970s, the value of recycled goods was actually emphasized decades before that. It was the economic depression of the 1930s and 40s that brought conservation and recycling to the forefront of the American mind. The stock market crash made money scarce and the pair of World Wars that followed necessitated the rationing of goods. Rather than see this as a breaking point, Americans founded an industry, recycling. Continue reading →

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It’s Not Easy Being Green… Or Is It?

Posted on April 26, 2010 by Breana Cronk

With Earth Day less than a week behind us, the importance of environmentally friendly practices is still fresh in the minds of millions across the country and even around the world. The fervor of this global holiday unfortunately tends to wane as the year goes by. Slowly many slip into the comfort of old habits and relax on earth saving resolutions. This familiar pattern repeats year after year, until now. Now, several industries have made a permanent commitment to going ‘green.’ Studies project that nearly 70% of new jobs in the near future will come from the plethora of manufacturers across the board who are taking advantage of the growing market for green. While some go green by choice and others are pressured by enhanced government regulation, everyone benefits, including the manufacturers and an economy in recovery. Continue reading →

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Plastic Materials: An Overview of Properties & Applications

Posted on July 31, 2009 by Todd Halt

Few materials influence our daily lives more than plastic. As consumers, we don’t often stop to think about how a huge percent of the objects we use are made from plastic. In my office alone I count 32 individual plastic objects – and that’s not counting my pencils, pens and binders. Plastic manufacturers, however, must be acutely aware of the vast range of plastic materials and applications, as they are constantly designing and fine tuning new products with specific shape, strength, transparency and chemical properties. With the countless number of products – from disposable packaging to critical automotive parts – that can be made from plastic, it’s no wonder there are such a wide range of plastic materials, all with a very distinct set of properties. Understanding the difference between, say, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride is crucial for engineering products that will withstand their environments. Acrylic could never provide the strength and structural support of PVC, but polyvinyl chloride would be a clumsy and unattractive replacement to acrylic point of purchase displays. Let’s take a look at the most important polymer types and their properties. Continue reading →

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