Plastics Careers Background Since the first synthetic plastics were produced in 1909, plastics have become a part of everyday life. Plastics can be manufactured to be hard enough to use as dies for shaping metal or soft enough to weave nylon stockings. Surgeons can use plastic screws to join broken bones; architects use plastics that
Plastics products manufacturing workers mold, cast, and assemble products made of plastics materials. The objects they make include dishes, signs, toys, insulation, appliance parts, automobile parts, combs, gears, bearings, and many others. Thermoplastics, plastics that soften with heat and harden when cooled, were discovered in France in 1828. In the United States in 1869, a
Plastics engineers engage in the manufacture, fabrication, and end use of existing materials, as well as in the development of new materials, processes, and equipment. The term, plastics engineering, encompasses a wide variety of applications and manufacturing processes. Depending on the processes involved, plastics engineers develop everything from the initial part design to the processes