KEY CONCEPTS OF TEXTILES

Both natural and synthetic fibres can be woven to make a variety of textiles.

Natural fibres may come from animal sources (wool, silk), plant sources (cotton, linen, esparto, bamboo) and mineral sources (gold, siver, and cooper wires).

Stnthetic fibres, such as nylon, polyester, rayon and Licra, are plastic materials.

KEY CONCEPTS OF MODIFICATION TECHNIQUES

MODIFICATION TECHNIQUES use tools and machines to make changes to prefabricated materials, such as sheets, bars or mouldings.

Examples of these techniques include: MEASURING  ⇒ DRAWING MARKS AND LINES ⇒ CUTTING ⇒ DRILLING ⇒ FILING AND SANDING ⇒ JOINING

KEY CONCEPTS OF PLASTIC FORMING TECHNIQUES

Various industrial techniques can be used to manufacture plastic products, such as: EXTURSION, CALENDERING, VACUUM FORMING and MOULDING.

The main techniques for using moulds are as follows: BLOW MOULDING, INJECTION MOULDING and COMPRESSION MOULDING.

KEY CONCEPTS OF THE CLASSIFICATION OF PLASTICS

1. THERMOPLASTICS are usually made from petroleum products. The most common are:
- Polyethylene terephthalate
- High-density polyethylene
- Polyvynyl chloride
- Low-density polyethylene
- Ploypropylene
- Moulded polystyrene
- Expanded polystyrene

2. THERMOSETTING PLASTICS are made from petroleum products. They include:
- Polyurethane
- Bakelite
- Melamine
- Polyester resins

3. Typical ELASTOMERS include rubber and neoprene.

KEY CONCEPTS OF PLASTIC MATERIALS

1. Plastics consist of long chains of atoms which are mostly composed of carbon.

2. Plastics can be classified into natural and synthetic.

3. The process of manufacturing plastic is called polymerisation.

4. Plastic materials are resistant, insulating, ductile, malleable, impermeable and light.

5. There are three types of plastic recycling processes: chemical and mechanical recycling and energy recovery.