Commodity Resins
Polypropylene (PP): PP is a cheap material and good when cosmetics and rigidity aren’t a priority. Chemical resistant and good for living hinge designs.
Polyethylene: High and low density options. Is durable and chemical resistant.
Polystyrene: A hard thermoplastic that is cheap and clear.
Check out our guide to injection molding materials if you want to dig deeper into plastic selection.
Stock colors from the resin vendor are typically black and natural. Natural might be white, beige, amber or another color. Semi-custom colors are created when colorant pellets are added to natural resins. For available colors, visit our materials page. There is no added charge for our inventory colors. They may not be an exact match and may create streaks or swirls in parts.
Resin Additives
Short glass fibers are used to strengthen a composite and reduce creep, especially at higher temperatures. They make the resin stronger, stiffer, and more brittle. They can cause warp due to the difference in cooling shrink between the resin and the fibers.
Carbon fiber is used to strengthen and/or stiffen a composite and also to aid in static dissipation. It has the same limitations as glass fibers. Carbon fiber can make plastic very stiff.
Minerals such as talc and clay are often used as fillers to reduce the cost or increase the hardness of finished parts. Since they do not shrink as much as resins do when cooled, they can reduce warping.
PTFE (Teflon) and molybdenum disulfide are used to make parts self-lubricating in bearing applications.
Long glass fibers are used like short glass fibers to strengthen and reduce creep, but make the resin much stronger and stiffer. The downside is that they can be particularly challenging to mold parts with thin walls and/or long resin flows.
Aramid (Kevlar) fibers are like less-abrasive glass fibers only not as strong.
Glass beads and mica flakes are used to stiffen a composite and reduce warping and shrinkage. With high loading, they can be challenging to inject.
Stainless steel fibers are used to control EMI (electromagnetic interference) and RFI (radio frequency interference) typically in housings for electronic components. They are more conductive than carbon fiber.
UV inhibitor for outdoor applications.
Static treatments make resins dissipate static.
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