Thermoplastic Material Selection

Eric R. Larson is a mechanical engineer with over thirty years experience in plastics design. He has helped developed products ranging from boogie boards, water basketball games, and SCUBA diving equipment to disposable lighters, cell phones, and hand-held medical devices. A graduate of The University of Michigan, Eric spent his early career in the sporting goods industry before spending 10 years working for DuPont Engineering Plastics, where he provided expertise on material selection and plastic part design to a select group of major manufacturers.For the past twenty years he has worked as a consulting engineer, helping companies bridge the gap between development and production. Some of the products he has helped bring to market include washing machines for Whirlpool, power tools for Skil®, cell phones for Motorola and Nokia, and the Humalog® / Humulin® insulin pen for Eli Lilly. In 2006 he founded Art of Mass Production, an engineering consulting company based in San Diego, California. AMP provides services to manufacturing companies in the consumer electronics, wireless, and medical device industries. Eric is also moderator of the blog site plasticsguy.com, where he writes about plastics technology, and its effect on people and the planet. His newest book Thermoplastic Materials Selection: A Practical Guide is scheduled for release in 2015.

• 1. Introduction2. Why Use Plastic?3. Understanding Thermoplastics4. An Overview of Thermoplastic Materials5. Material Selection Based on Performance6. Material Selection Based on Cost7. Material Selection Based on Feel8. Bringing It All Together