Glossary of Terms

This glossary defines the terms that come up in secondary plastics manufacturing: laser marking and laser welding, surface pretreatment by corona, plasma, flame and UV/ozone, adhesion and bonding, coatings, inkjet printing and product security. Each entry explains what the term means in practice on a plastic part, the numbers and standards that matter (surface energy in dyne/cm, ASTM D3359 ratings, UL 94 classes) and where the full technical treatment lives on this site. The entries are written for engineers and buyers who need a working definition quickly; the linked service pages and articles cover specification, process development and troubleshooting in depth.

Screen Printing on Plastics

A squeegee forces ink through a stencil on a tensioned mesh. Mesh counts, ink systems by resin, process parameters, pretreatment,...

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In-Mold Decorating (IMD) and In-Mold Labeling (IML)

IMD over-molds a pre-formed printed film; IML fuses a printed label into a packaging container. Constructions, parameters, defects and how...

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Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)

PVC marks well with fiber and UV lasers but releases HCl, and flexible grades bloom plasticizer that defeats inks and...

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Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA, Acrylic)

PMMA is the clearest common thermoplastic and the most solvent-sensitive. Grades, properties, CO2 and fiber laser response, crazing-safe bonding, hardcoats...

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Polyoxymethylene (POM, Acetal)

Acetal (POM) is stiff, slippery and chemically inert: a superb gear material and a notoriously difficult one to bond, print...

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Hot Stamping (Foil Decorating)

A dry process that presses a metallized or pigmented foil onto plastic with a heated die. Foil construction, parameters by...

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Ultrasonic Welding of Plastics

Ultrasonic welding melts a plastic joint by 20-40 kHz viscoelastic heating in under a second. Material suitability, parameters, joint design,...

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Adhesion Promoter

An adhesion promoter is a primer or coupling agent that bridges a plastic surface and a coating, ink or adhesive....

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Hydrophobic Recovery

Hydrophobic recovery is the decay of a plasma, corona or flame treatment over time. Mechanisms, kinetics, typical windows by polymer,...

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