Main applications of ABS plastic contain auto, electronic products and building materials. The application in auto contains instrument board, outer panel, decorative plate, steering wheel, acoustic panel, door lock, bumper and ventiduct. In terms of electronic products, ABS plastic is widely used for refrigerator, television, washing machine, air conditioner, computer and printer. In terms of building materials, ABS tube, ABS sanitary ware and ABS decorative sheet are widely used. Besides, ABS plastic is widely applied in packaging, furniture, sports and entertainment.
ABS plastic is widely applied in auto industry, commonly used as gears, fender, handrail, vane, bearing, handle, tube, splice, meter housing and instrument board. The application of ABS plastic has wide prospect in household appliances and home electronics, such as television, radio cassette recorder, refrigerator, freezer, washing machine, air conditioner and dust collector. Applications of ABS plastic in daily necessities include shoe, office equipment, toy and other containers. Low foaming ABS plastic can take place of timber, suitable for building materials, furniture and household effects.
For ABS plastic having good performance and forming processability, it is widely applied in different fields. Main applications include following industries.
Auto industry
Large numbers of parts on auto are made of ABS plastic or ABS alloy. For example, Passat manufactured by SAIC Volkswagen uses 11kg of ABS plastic per vehicle. On other models of vehicle, usage amount of ABS plastic is quite amazing. In 2000, usage amount of vehicle in China had already reached 35,000 tons. The main parts of auto such as instrument board use PC-ABS as frame. The surface is covered with thin film made of PVS/ABS. Moreover, decorative parts are also mainly made of ABS plastic. Glove box and glove compartment are made of heat resistance ABS plastic. Decorative parts on threshold and shell of water tank are also made of ABS plastic. Other parts also use ABS plastic as raw material.
Office equipment
ABS plastic has high glossiness and formability. The office equipment should have beautiful appearance and good hand feeling such as shell of telephone and memorizer. Computer, fax and printer largely use parts made of ABS plastic.
Household appliances
ABS plastic also has wide application in household appliances for its high glossiness and formability. Printer, sound and VCD largely use ABS plastic as raw material. Cleaner also use cleaner made of ABS plastic, including kitchen utensils.
Subject of ABS plastic is polymer or copolymer made of acrylonitrile, butadiene and styrol, a kind of tough and rigid thermoplastic plastic. Styrene made ABS plastic has good moldability, glossiness and rigidity. Acrylonitrile makes ABS plastic has good heat resistance, corrosion resistance and surface hardness. Butadiene makes ABS plastic has good impact resistance and low temperature resilience. With different rations of three components, the features also changes.
Features of ABS plastic
At a temperature range, ABS plastic has good shock strength and surface hardness, better dimensional stability, chemical resistance and good electrical insulation property. It is adiaphanous, showing shallow ivory tint. It can be made into products having high glossiness. Electroplating surface can be electroplated or vacuum coated for decoration. General ABS plastic can be processed with injection, extrusion and vacuum forming.
