Engineering Plastics for Competitive Positioning

Engineering Plastics for Competitive Positioning

3 DAY LECTURE
OFFERED ONCE:
June 9-11, 2008 (CRS# 00.734-011)

TUITION: $925

OVERVIEW
This three-day lecture series will focus on the properties, performance, processability, and market potential of engineering polymeric materials.

CONTENT
A brief review of current commodity resins will preface an in-depth outline of the significant chemistry, properties, and processing advantages and limitations of the most recent generation of engineering and high-performance polymers. Each material will be discussed for commercial applicability, competitive positioning, and marketplace opportunities. Future trends in property enhancement, via alloying/blending as well as additive technology, will be emphasized. Materials will be discussed for commercial applicability, competitive positioning, and marketplace opportunities.

An abbreviated listing of amorphous and crystalline engineering resins and specialty polymers reviewed in this lecture series includes:

Nylons and acetals
Acrylics
Polycarbonates
Polysulfones
Polyphenylene ether and sulfides
Liquid crystal polymers (LCPs)
Polyimides and amideimide copolymers
Poly(ketone) derivatives
Polymer alloys/blends (PA/Bs)

These resin families will be compared to the other engineering polymers; competitive advantages will be stressed and inherent limitations will be discussed for economic alternatives. Representative examples of commercial products will be continuously discussed in order to position each material against other commercial candidates. In addition to the lectures, there will be scheduled demonstrations of advanced testing and polymer characterization techniques.

INSTRUCTOR
Professor Stephen Burke Driscoll