About Polymers

Polymers; Polymers are large molecules, consisting of repeated chemical units, which are joined together – usually in a line. Polymers are traditionally used to make solid plastics and there are many ways in which these materials can be classified. One major classification is to split them into three major types of materials; thermoplastics, elastomers and thermosetting plastics.
Thermoplastics are materials which soften on heating and harden on cooling. This process can be repeated many times. Approximately 80% of the plastics used in the world are thermoplastics and this group can be further divided into; commodity thermoplastics, engineering thermoplastics, thermoplastic elastomers or rubbers and blends/alloys Thermosetting plastics are materials which, once shaped by heat and pressure, cannot be re-processed by further application of heat and pressure. Elastomers or rubbers are materials which can be stretched extensively, and which will return to their original shape once the stretching force is released. Once this property was always associated with vulcanised rubber but now thermoplastic elastomers can be designed to have the same properties. Many plastics have long complex chemical names and for ease of use these are often shortened to use letters referring to part of the chemical name. For example Polyvinyl Chloride is usually referred to as PVC. For a list of common polymers and abbreviations in English, Italian, Spanish, German and French

AMI - Polymer abbreviations
English
German
French

Italian
Abbreviation
Abkürzungen
Abbréviations
Abbreviation
Abbreviation
English
Deutsch
Français
Italiano
Espnañol
PS
Polystyrene
PS
Polystyrol
PS
Polystyrène
PS
Polistirene
PS
Poliestireno
SAN
Styrene Acrylonitrile
SAN
Styrol Acrylnitril Copolymerisat
SAN
Copolymère styrene-acrylonitrile
SAN
Stirene acronitrile
SAN
Estireno Acrilonitrilo
ABS
Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene
ABS
Acrylnitril Butadien Styrol Polymerisat
ABS
Copolymère d’acrylonitrile butadiène styrène
ABS
Acronitrile butadiene stirene
ABS
Acrilonitrilo Butadieno Estireno
LLDPE
Linear Low Density Polyethylene
LLDPE
Lineares Polyethylen niedriger Dichte
PELBD
Polyéthylène Linéaire Basse Densité
LLDPE
Polietilene lineare a bassa densità
LLDPE
Polietileno de Baja Densidad Lineal
LDPE
Low Density Polyethylene
LDPE
Polyethylen niedriger Dichte
PEBD
Polyéthylène Basse Densité
LDPE
Polietilene a bassa densità
LDPE
Polietileno de Baja Densidad
HDPE
High Density Polyethylene
HDPE
Polyethylen hoher Dichte
PEHD
Polyéthylène Haute Densité
HDPE
Polietilene ad alta densità
HDPE
Polietileno de Alta Densidad
PP
Polypropylene
PP
Polypropylen
PP
Polypropylène
PP
Polipropilene
PP
Polipropileno
EVA
Ethylene Vinyl Acetate
EVA
Ethylen-Vinylacetat
EVA
Copolymère d’éthylène-acétate de vinyle
EVA
Copolimero etilene acetato di vinile
EVA
Etileno Vinilacetatos
Rigid PVC
Rigid Polyvinyl Chloride
Hart PVC
Hart-Polyvinylchlorid
PVC Rigide
Chlorure de Polyvinyle rigide
PVC rigido
Cloruro di polivinile rigido
PVC rigido
Cloruro de Polivinilo Rígido
Flexible PVC
Flexible Polyvinyl Chloride
Weich PVC
Weich-Polyvinylchlorid
PVC Souple
Chlorure de Polyvinyle souple
PVC flessibile
Cloruro di polivinile flessibile
PVC flexible
Cloruro de Polivinilo Flexible
Acetals
Acetals
Acetale
(POM) Polyoxymethylen
POM
Polyacétal
POM
Polimeri acetalici
POM
Poliacetales
Nylon
Nylon
PA
Polyamid
PA
Polyamide
PA
Poliammide
PA
Poliamidas
Acrylics
Acrylics
Acryle
(PMMA) Polymethylmethacrylat
PMMA
Acrylique
PMMA
Polimetilmetacrilato
PMMA
Metacrilato de Polimetilo
Phenolics
Phenolics
Phenolharze
Phenolharz Formmassen
Phénoplastes
Phénoplastes
Resine fenoliche
Resine fenoliche
Fenólicos
Fenólicos
PC
Polycarbonate
PC
Polycarbonat
PC
Polycarbonate
PC
Policarbonato
PC
Policarbonato
PPO
Polyphenylene Oxide
PPO
Polyphenylether
PPO
Oxide de Polyphénylène
PPO
Polipropilene ossidato
PPO
Óxido de Polifenileno
PEEK
Polyether Ether Ketone
PEEK
Polyetheretherketon
PEEK
Polyétheréthercétone
PEEK
Polieterchetone
PEEK
Polieteretercetona
PET
Polyethylene Terephthalate
PET
Polyethyleneterephthalat
PET
Polyéthylène téréphtalate
PET
Polietilentereftalato
PET
Tereftalato de Polietileno
PBT
Polybutylene Teraphthalate
PBT
Polybutylenterephthalat
PBT
Polybutilène téréphtalate
PBT
Polibutilentereftalato
PBT
Tereftalato de Polibutileno
DMC
Dough Moulding Compound
DMC
Plattenextrusionscompound
DMC
Dough Moulding Compound
DMC
Masse da stampa in resina poliestere insatura
DMC
Moldeo de Compuestos de Resina de Poliester Insaturada
PSU
Polyether Sulphone
PSU
Polyethersulfon
PSU
Polysulfone
PSU
Polietersulfone
PSU
Polietersulfona
TPEs
Thermoplastic Elastomers
TPEs
Thermoplastische Elastomere
TPEs
Elastomères Thermoplastiques
TPEs
Elastomeri termoplastici
TPEs
Elastómeros Termoplásticos

Polymers are normally processed by melt processes such as moulding and extrusion and can be modified significantly by the use of plastics additives.
The Market for Thermoplastics
The West European thermoplastics industry in 2003 represents a 31 million tonne plus business worth in excess of EUR 55 billion. The industry is subject to constant change as plastics seek to replace traditional materials and as plastics materials and techniques compete against each other in the marketplace for applications. Companies are constantly seeking to gain a competitive advantage both through the introduction of new materials or material grades or by the acquisition of other competitors’ business. Making sense of all this is a full time job but AMI are specialists in plastics and we relish the challenge.
At the Heart
Since our formation in 1986 we have established a series of polymer databases for Europe and Asia which chart the supply and demand for all commodity and engineering thermoplastics. These databases also contain end use applications for each material on both a historical and future forecast basis. The databases are constantly refined and updated in the light of AMI’s whole research effort and together with our processor databases underpin much of our consulting and publishing work programmes.