Modern Plastic Origin

Modern plastics as we know them today have their origin in the late 19th century when numerous European and American chemists experimented with various types of rubber and residues from chemical mixtures.

In 1865 John W. Hyatt patented a process for combining cellulose nitrate and camphor into a compound he termed "celluloid" which was used as a replacement material for ivory in the production of billiard balls. Celluloid is still used to this day for photographic film used in the motion picture industry.

The first moldable material was introduced in 1907 by Leo Hendrick Baekeland which was a phenolic material he named "Bakelite". Bakelite was such a versatile and durable material that it could be used to produce many useful domestic, industrial and military products.

Throughout the early 20th century many new plastic materials were developed including the following important benchmarks: Rayon in 1891; Cellophane in 1913; Nylon in 1920; Polyvinylchloride (PVC) in 1933; Teflon in 1938; Polyethlene in 1933.

Since the 1950s, plastics have grown into a major industry experiencing rapid growth which it still enjoys today with the continual development, modification and refinement of materials. Southwest Plastics has been serving our customer's molded plastic requirements since the early 1950s and has enjoyed steady growth with this dynamic industry.

Source : www.southwestplastics.com/learn-more/a-brief-history-of-plastic-injection-molding-process

Growth of Modern Plastics

Cellulose acetate, a thermoplastic, was developed about the same time as the urea-based resins. Similar in structure to cellulose nitrate, it was found to be safer to process and use. Cellulose acetate was introduced as a molding compound in 1927.

The period 1930-1940 saw the initial commercial development of today’s major thermoplastics: polyvinyl chloride, low density polyethylene, polystyrene, and polymethyl methacrylate. The advent of World War II in 1939 brought plastics into great demand, largely as substitutes for materials in short supply, such as natural rubber. In the United States, the crash program leading to large-scale production of synthetic rubbers resulted in extensive research into the chemistry of polymer formation and, eventually, to the development of more plastic materials.

The first decade after World War II saw the development of polypropylene and high density polyethylene and the growth of the new plastics in many applications. Linear low density polyethylene was introduced in 1978 and made it possible to produce polyethylenes with densities ranging from 0.90 to 0.96. Large-scale production of these materials reduced their cost dramatically. The new materials began to compete with the older plastics and even with the more traditional materials such as wood, paper, metal, glass, and leather. The introduction of alloys and blends of various polymers made it possible to tailor properties to fit certain performance requirements that a single resin could not provide. The demand for plastics has increased steadily; plastics are now accepted by designers and engineers as basic materials along with the more traditional materials. The automotive industry, for instance, relies on plastics to reduce weight and thus increase energy efficiency.

Source : www.plasticsindustry.org/AboutPlastics/content.cfm?ItemNumber=670