Tortoise shell is as well. Phenolic and melamine are synthetic plastics. All plastics are polymers. Polymers are categorized by how they are constructed on the molecular level; they are made up of strands of connected units of the same size, like a beaded necklace, or many, many beaded necklaces all mixed together. Plastic or Polymer? The general public uses the words interchangeably, but an engineer or a material scientist would only refer to polymers. Resin is another word that we commonly confuse.
Merriam Webster Dictionary defines resin as a group of natural, flammable, fusible organic substances that are formed as secretions in plants. They are soluble in organic solvents, but are not water-soluble. Resins can be solid or semi- solid, and are usually transparent or translucent and yellowish-brown in color. As you can see, following the strict definition, resins are natural.
Amber is pine resin hardened into a semi- precious stone-like nugget. Any plant that produces sap is producing resin. Resins are also polymers, polymeric in their structure. They are used in varnishes, printing inks, in medicine, and in plastics. But our modern definition of laminate is broader and more confusing, because we have added the concept of synthetic resins into the mix.
Natural resins are natural plastics—they are moldable polymers found in nature. Rubber is a natural resin, the sap of the rubber tree—it is also a natural plastic. Never miss important news!
Be inspired by real life projects! Before participating, read them in full. Any countertop ideas pre-laminate? How is TFL made? Is one better then the other? Does their tend to be a cost difference? Faber and Daniel J. Since that time plastic laminate evolved from electrical insulation to what most consumers associate it with now; HPDL high pressure decorative laminate. The Formica Company was the brainchild of Herbert A. In , Faber and O'Conor discovered that by adding decorative paper through a lithographic printing process, their laminates could be made with patterns that simulated wood grains and marble.
As the laminate became more colorful and decorative, its market expanded. Formica became a household name that many people used when referring to any brand of HDLP. Daniel J. O'Conor and Herbert A. Faber, the founders of Formica, were two engineers who met in , their first year of employment at Westinghouse Electric in Pittsburgh. Westinghouse was one of many manufacturers experimenting with the developing field of synthetics manufacture, with each scrambling to find applied uses for the new materials.
O'Conor and Faber rose through the ranks of the company, with O'Conor in the research engineering department and Faber in sales. Westinghouse and others soon began to experiment with several new laminate processes that had been patented by renowned inventor Dr. Leo Baekeland. In , Baekeland had created Bakelite--the first totally synthetic plastic--which proved to be the heat- and moisture-resistant material that prompted a revolution in American industry.
After Baekeland had made his invention known and received the patents for it in , many manufacturers rushed to take advantage of the new material's properties. Bakelite in liquid form could impregnate materials such as canvas or paper to them give insulating properties.
In that year O'Conor at Westinghouse manufactured the first sheet of laminate by coating kraft paper with liquid Bakelite and then pressing it flat. Westinghouse applied for the patent for the process in , and it was granted in Faber and O'Conor left Westinghouse in , convinced that this new laminated material was an important one and that it was underappreciated and underdeveloped at Westinghouse.
In search of capital, they found a partner in J. They made Cincinnati, Faber's home town, its headquarters. The company's first plant was a rented two-story space, and it held a horsepower boiler and a gas stove. It opened its doors in with an order to be filled: commutator V-rings for the Chalmers Motor Company. O'Conor and Faber saw the future of this new product as an insulating material, especially suited in electrical processes. Mica had been popular as just such an insulator but had grown expensive and hard to come by.
Faber called the new material Formica, at it could be used "for mica. This early Formica was dark in color and without the surface layer that was to be added later. During the first year the company made only rings and tubes. The company incorporated on October 15, as the Formica Insulation Company. Faber was president and treasurer, and O'Conor was vice-president and secretary.
In July , a new flat-sheet press arrived at the factory, which allowed the company to produce laminate. Formica produced laminate on order only, buying the resin that was necessary to the process from the Bakelite Company; from the beginning, it had been operating under license from Baekeland. Sheets of plastic laminate may be bonded to a wood or composite base using laminate glue, adhesives, or resin. The laminate-topped base is then used as a countertop, floor finish, or wall paneling.
The sheets of laminate themselves can also be used as a decorative finish material is a wide variety of applications. Different types of plastic laminate can be categorized based on the thickness of the laminate sheet, which increased strength and durability, or even on the thickness of the urethane wear coat, which helps extend the life of the material. Laminate products can also be distinguished by color, texture and design style.
Many buyers choose plastic laminate products for their easy cleaning and low-maintenance requirements.
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