Plastics Engineer and Plastics Technician Careers

Plastics engineers create novel materials, methods, and equipment, while plastics technicians work with engineers, scientists, researchers, and manufacturers to create and distribute plastic goods.

Background of Plastics Manufacturing Professions

In 1828, French scientists discovered thermoplastics, a type of material that changes shape when heated and hardens again when cooled. In an effort to find a replacement for ivory in billiard balls, American printer John Wesley Hyatt invented celluloid in 1869. His 1872 patent caused a dramatic shift in industrial productivity.

By 1892, over 2,500 items were made from celluloid. Frames for eyeglasses, fake teeth, the first film, and billiard balls were among these innovations. There were some drawbacks to using celluloid. The material was extremely combustible and difficult to shape.

The first synthetic plastic was made by Belgian-American chemist Leo H. Baekeland in 1909. This product is still in use today but has mostly replaced natural rubber in electrical insulation, phone handsets, and car distributor caps and rotors. The evolution of other types of plastics has been constant. The war effort necessitated modifications in apparel, consumer products, transportation, and military equipment, therefore, this period saw the greatest diversity of materials and applications.

The manufacturing of plastics is now a global powerhouse, with repercussions felt in countless other sectors. There are few facets of human existence in which plastic does not play a part. Plastics engineers in the medical industry, for instance, may contribute to the improvement of artificial hearts, prosthetic limbs, synthetic skin, implanted eye lenses, and specialized tools for surgeons and other medical personnel. Because technological advancements in the plastics sector necessitated workers with some technical background but not an engineering degree, the role of plastics technician was born.

Job Description for Plastics Engineers and Plastics Technicians

Depending on the company they work for and the goods they manufacture, plastics engineers may be responsible for a wide range of tasks. Polymer engineers, for instance, might figure out how to mass-produce transparent, long-lasting polymers to use in place of glass in hazardous environments. For example, some people specialize in making lightweight metal and wood replacements, while others design and produce lightweight components for airplanes and automobiles. Others could be used to develop cheaper fireproof plastics for use in building homes, workplaces, and factories. Engineers working with plastics could also find ways to make products with novel biodegradable compounds that are less harmful to the environment and can be recycled more easily.

Plastics engineers work in many different fields. Research specialists use the fundamental building blocks of matter to discover and create new materials; application engineers develop new processes and materials to create a better finished product; process engineers oversee the production of reliable, high-quality, standard materials; and so on.

Plastics engineers deal with all kinds of internal production issues every day. Consistency in the process is essential to the manufacture of high-quality, well-measured parts, and it is also your job to make sure those parts are handled and packaged economically and correctly. Each component is unique in this regard.

The production process is becoming increasingly assisted by computers. Plastics engineers rely heavily on computers for everything from determining part weight and cycle durations to designing components and molds on a CAD system to keeping tabs on production and employee hours in the mold shop to transferring engineering information over the Internet.

Plastics engineers aid clients in resolving design issues, such as making a part more moldable or addressing potential faults or inconsistencies in the final design. Thin walls, functional or cosmetic considerations, portions that are badly constructed and will not allow the component to be produced efficiently, and inappropriate material selection can all contribute to a more challenging molding process.

Plastics engineers often work closely with tool manufacturers to organize production schedules and mold construction. Schedules for mold construction include everything from designing the tool and purchasing the materials (and ensuring their prompt delivery) to calculating the time needed for the roughing and finishing processes. Size, intricacy of work orders, and the type of materials used to construct the mold all play a role in how each mold is designed and constructed.

Plastics engineers have the unenviable task of turning a challenging application into a moneymaker for their company while still meeting the demands of the customer in the time allotted.

Plastics technicians’ work falls into five broad categories: design and prototyping; mold and tool creation; production; distribution and servicing; and other technical duties.

Science and engineering Technicians typically find employment in laboratories, where they are tasked with developing or enhancing products. Laboratory technicians are responsible for keeping tabs on chemical reactions, conducting tests, analyzing test results, keeping records, and writing reports. They prepare equipment for use, adjust settings as needed, and run tests to collect data for analysis. They work on prototypes, aid in the creation of specialized tools and technology, and keep an eye on the production process when new product designs are conceived.

Technicians in the mold and tool industry are an important subset of the plastics industry. Many companies need someone with drafting expertise for positions like mold and tool designers and drawing detailers. It’s possible they’ll also get into designing products.

Technicians in the plastics industry may find work in the areas of molding, laminating, or fabrication. The technician in charge of molding must ensure that molds are correctly installed in production equipment, correct molding cycles are established, the molding process is monitored, production schedules are kept, raw materials are tested, items in production are inspected, and the finished product is checked for defects. Professional laminators learn to layer materials in a specific order. Airplanes, spacecraft, buses, boats, satellites, surfboards, RVs, and even tables and chairs are all manufactured using this method. When laminating, one works at a bench for smaller pieces and in a group for larger ones. A single technician can assemble a reinforced plastic item the size of a shoe box, yet it takes a team of technicians to assemble a massive motorized vehicle for a Disney World attraction. Fabricators work with plastic sheets, rods, and tubes using tools similar to those used in carpentry. Fabricators create a wide variety of items, including aircraft windshields and canopies, solariums, counter displays, computer housings, signage, and furniture. Technicians in this field need an understanding of basic machine shop techniques as well as heat forming, polishing, and bonding.

Technicians in sales and customer service are needed by distributors, manufacturers, molders, laminators, fabricators, and suppliers of raw materials.

Plastics technicians are highly sought-after and appreciated members of the workforce in a number of related industries. Plastics technicians are essential to the operations of many manufacturing businesses, including those that produce computers, appliances, electronic gadgets, aircraft, and other products with plastic components.