Details
Material hierarchy: Polymer
Thermoplastics, also called thermoplastic polymers or thermoplastic resins, and abbreviated by TP, are solid materials at room temperature, but they become viscous liquids when heated to temperatures of only a few hundred degrees. This characteristic allows them to be easily and economically shaped into products. They can be subjected to this heating and cooling cycle repeatedly without significant degradation of the polymer.
Commodity thermoplastics and their chemical relatives have found their way into wide commercial use, with millions of tons produced annually. Their ranks include the polyolefins, the styrenics, and the vinyls. Also included are the acrylics and the cellulosics.
The remaining thermoplastic materials generally are categorized as engineering resins or engineering thermoplastics (ETPs). These resins are produced in substantially smaller quantities than the commodity thermoplastics, are priced higher, and tend to compete with metals rather than with glass, paper, and wood, as the commodities do.