Plastics material databases

Over the last 20 years, the plastic material database CAMPUS [116] has developed into a standard information system for designers worldwide. CAMPUS is a joint development of the leading plastic raw material producers, who coordinate standardized material testing, data management, and system development and distribution. The database is easily accessible through download from www.CAMPUSplastics. com. 

Plastics materials databases offer solutions to the problan of sorting through the maze of material data sheets with the help of a personal computer. However, except for CAMPUS, all the currently available materials databases do not provide material selection by uniform standards. AU databases are programmed to allow the user to search for a material by properties, generic name, trade mark, applications, and manufacturer. The majority include a comparative format for a side-by-side comparison of material properties from the same or different suppliers. One of the versions also provides scanned manufacturer data sheets and additional material and marketing information. 

Table 20-4 is a compilation of currently available plastics material databases. 

Plaspec Material Selection Database Data Resources, Inc. Dialog, STN detailed engineering and design data, chemical descriptions, and trade names for over 11,500 grades of plastics materials... 

In order to meet the rising demand for information thousands of databases are available worldwide. Nearly all supply technical literature, economic information, patent references, and manufacturers addresses. Materials databases with numerical values are a relatively small part of these programs. Because the majority of these databases are from individual manufacturers of plastics, there is only limited comprehensive, neutral information on most materials in these software programs. 

Plastics Institute) established the materials database called Polymat. This program brings greater availability into a plastics market in which a general perspective is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain. This database contains information on plastics and elastomers, supplying about thirty to fifty properties for each material. Initially some six thousand plastics, from about seventy manufacturers, were stored. 

Each plastic in this database is first characterized by descriptive data such as its trade name, manufacturer, product group, form of supply, or additives. Then follows complex technical information on each material, with details of fields of application, recommended processing techniques, and special features. The central element of this material database is the numerical values it gives on a wide range of mechanical, thermal, electrical, optical, and other properties. All these items can... 

With regard to the common European market, the European Economic Community (EEC) has undertaken numerous activities concerned with materials and material information systems. In one demonstration program for material databases eleven such databases from various countries in the EEC are being cooperatively developed with joint standards for terminology, data presentation, database access, and the user interface of search commands, aids, and menus. For the materials class of plastics, Polymat was selected to participate in this cooperative work. Interesting developments occur from which the users of central material databases in the entire EEC area can benefit. 

Prospector web Prospector Web is an interactive database used to find and compare plastic materials. You can specify your application requirements to search a catalog of nearly all North American plastics and increasing amounts of plastics data from European and Pacific Rim material suppliers. Materials can be searched by any of 200+ properties, reviewed, sorted, and compared to determine the material best fitted to your needs. Test data is available in both English or Metric units and ASTM or ISO format. Both Prospector Web and its sister product Prospector Desktop come with IDES s exclusive Plastics Materials Hotline to help with questions that may arise. 

FreeMDS http //www.freemds.cora FreeMDS from IDES (http //www.idesinc. com/Products l.htm) is a no-charge service that provides Plastic Material Data Sheets. This growing database contains over 35,000 Material Data Sheets from North America, Europe, and the Pacific Rim. 

CAMPUS, the plastics database CAMPUS is an internationally known database software for plastic materials, developed by close cooperation with leading plastics producing companies. It is available worldwide from leading material suppliers. More than 50 plastics producers are participants of CAMPUS. Information about the latest list of participants and distribution addresses can be found at the CAMPUS homepage http //www.CAMPUSplastics.com/. This web site also includes extensive information about the data content of CAMPUS and links to the participants web sites. It is important to emphasize that only CAMPUS participants distribute CAMPUS diskettes. Each plastic producer distributes his own diskette to his customers without charge. 

POLYMAT light POLYMAT light Materials Data for Plastics is a manufacturer independent, materials database for plastics and contains properties of thermoplastics, thermoplastic elastomers and blends. In total, data from approximately 13,000 commercial products of 170 manufacturers are available products and data can be retrieved via searching in 35 different numerical properties and 15 text fields. 

Materia] Selector Access to (1) GE Select, a comprehensive database in Microsoft Windows format of the family of GE polymers which allows users to sort for the GE product families and grades of materials that will best meet the specified property ranges, and (2) CAMPUS, a worldwide database for plastic materials with uniform global protocol for acquiring and comparing data on competitive plastic materials. 

Ides operates the Prospector materials database with a search facility covering 38,000 plastic products from 400 global manufacturers (www.ides.com). Among the durability properties listed are creep and fatigue. 

In addition to their inclusion in the CAS databases, CAS Registry Numbers are used in many public and private databases. Currently, the cluster of databases on STN International containing Registry Numbers includes 7 CAS databases and 53 non-CAS databases. Among the latter are such diverse files as AIDSLINE, BIOSIS, Design Institute for Physical Property Data File (DIPPR), MEDLINE, Natural Products Alert (NAPRALERT), Pharmaceutical News Index (PNI), and Plastics Materials Selection Database (PLASPEC). 

Bayer Plastics Provides important news releases with material database, processing techniques, and designing marketable products, http //www.plastics.bayer.com/ english / home. html... 

Plasticizers are the most voluminous additives of semi-rigid and flexible PVC formulations. Their properties, mechanisms of action, and effect on properties of plasticized materials have been extensively discussed in a specialized monographic source, and data on different grades are included in the plasticizer database. ... 

Regarding materials selection there are a number of company-specific sites on the Internet that allow you to search product lines by brand name, intended application, and properties. These include GE Plastics (www.plasticsnet.com/ge), Bayer Corporation (www.polymers-usa. bayer.com), BASF (www.basfcom), Polymerland (www.polymerland. com), and M.A. Hanna (www.plasticsnet.com/mahanna). When searching for materials from a multiple number of vendors, there are several online material databases to visit. Some offer free access to... 

Materials, West Conshohocken, PA, www. astm.org). In plasticizers, the hydroxyl value includes -OH groups present in any free unesterified alcohol as well as those of the plasticizer molecule itself. In some plasticizers, large hydroxy values signal that the plasticizer may become incompatible on aging. In urethane technology, hydroxyl number is an important factor in the selection of polyols to achieve desired characteristics in elastomers and foams. Wypych G (ed) (2003) Plasticizer s database. Noyes Publication, New York. 

ISO 10350-1 is also the basis for acquisition and presentation of single-point data of the most successful and widely used materials database for plastics known as CAMPUS (Computer Aided Material Preselection by Uniform Standards). Comparable multipoint data standards ISO 11403-1 and 2 are the basis for a comprehensive set of multipoint data in CAMPUS, such as ... 

Nowadays, a substantial amount of information is available on the internet, and polymer properties are no exception. Many resin suppliers have data available on their website, and there are a number of electronic polymer databases available. One of the most useful databases is CAMPUS, acronym for Computer Aided Material Preselection by Uniform Standards. CAMPUS has become the most successful and widely used materials database for plastics. More than 25 international resin suppliers provide technical data on their products more than 100,000 copies have been distributed in Europe alone. 

Finally, the plastics database CAMPUS should be mentioned here. About forty plastics manufacturers have joined forces to compile a database for their customers. This provides information on the most important physical-chemical parameters and processing properties of all plastic materials on the market and in particular of the HDPE resins according to a unified scheme. The website www.campusplastics.com provides information on the database and access to the various data sets of the companies involved. 

Plastics Technology Online http //www.plasticstechnology.com/To access the Materials Database, see http //66.192.79.234/. 

All data presented in this chapter, as throughout this book, are per ASTM Standards unless otherwise specified. Also, each plastic discussed here can include only a few advantages and disadvantages for detailed information see the References section, computerized databases, and, most importantly, the plastic-material suppliers. 

IPS (International Plastics Selector, D.A.T.A. Business Publications, San Diego, CA). Plastics material selection database reviews of more than 10,(XX) grades with up to 50 properties for each material. Includes physical, mechanical, electrical, flammability, and other characteristics. 

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