When talking about plastic production, many people get up in arms about the efficacy and ethics behind plastics. What they do not realize is how high the demand and need for these plastics are around the globe. While there may be an environmental and holistic issue at hand, the reality remains that the benefits of custom plastic gears and production outweigh the cons.
Plastics Amid a Crisis
Because of supply and demand, plastics have reached heights greater than the world could have ever fathomed. Because of this, plastics are now one of the world’s largest assets. One prime example of this comes from the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the pandemic in full force, healthcare workers could not keep patients from this sometimes fatal illness. During this time, the demand for masks and ventilators increased. Plastic gears were integral to these new ventilators.
General Benefits of Plastics
Plastics offer many benefits but also many setbacks. If we focus on what they provide, then maybe we can improve them in years to come. Doing away with them altogether would be a mistake, as we rely on them heavily.
Here is a basic list of what makes plastics so attractive in business:
- Freedom to design and create molds
- Parts hold up and last longer
- Reduced prices for production
- Lightweight in comparison to metals
- Weather and corrosion-resistant
- Self-lubrication properties
- Less noise during operations
- One-step production
- Uniformity among production and parts
- Shock-absorbing qualities
But along with the good comes the negatives. Here is a list of the cons of plastics:
- Limited ability to work in extreme temperatures
- Higher cost of initial mold development for gears
- Lower accuracy compared with counterparts
- Can be negatively altered when around other chemicals
- Instability with design and dimensions
- Lower weight capacity
So, there are many things to consider when working with plastics. Since their inception, plastic machining services have kept a hold on businesses worldwide as a major contender of massive corporations. Regardless of the downfalls plastics may have, their performance truly tells us that we need them in our businesses.
Keeping this in mind, we cannot give up on plastic gear production or plastics in general. The benefits of custom plastic gears are favorable to the advancement of the world. So, before we consider other options, let’s first remember why businesses tend to lean plastic.
