Is Epoxy Resin Plastic?

Is Epoxy Resin Plastic? First, we need to explore what plastic actually is.  What makes a material a plastic?  Have you often wondered why some plastics such as your milk jug can be heated down and melted while things such as your tires cannot?  Think about it, it is kind of strange.

While plastics are made from carbon, things such as oil and gas.  These are hydrocarbons.  We are going to go into a bit of a chemistry lesson here, to get a full grip on what plastics actually are.  So, prepare yourself, it won’t be too in-depth.  If you have been in a chemistry class, you probably remember talking about atoms and molecules, which are groups of atoms.  Atoms group together and form molecular chains.  These molecular chains are various lengths, depending on what the chain is making up.  In plastics, these chains are very long.  So long that they get their own name called polymers.  That’s why many plastics are called Poly-something.    Although that isn’t the case with Epoxy, because it contains an epoxy ring, which gave this unique wonder its name.

Taking a look at epoxy’s molecular structure

Is Epoxy Resin Plastic

F4 Epoxy is and epoxy resin and resin is another name for plastic.  So, well, what would you think?  Is Epoxy Resin Plastic? Yes, epoxy resin is a form of plastic.  But, did you know there are two forms of plastic?  There are thermoplastics and thermosets. 

Thermoplastics

Thermoplastics are the type of plastic that your milk jug is made out of.  They are not chemically bonded in any way to make the solid but are a jumbled up mess of polymer chains that are linked together physically.  While there is even more of a break down into semi-crystalline and amorphous polymers.  Yeah, it goes deeper.  However, we won’t get fully into that.  

Thermosets

Thermosets are a chemical reaction.  Sometimes an outside force is needed to get the chemical reaction desired such as heat.  While other times the chemical reaction creates heat, it really all depends on the chemicals that are being mixed to make the new polymer.  While these polymers are mixed and the mixture reacts, there is simply no going back.  So, think of it like a cake.  You mixed it up and back it.  You put in the flour, sugar, and egg into the mixture, but once that is mixed, there is no getting those ingredients back out.  The egg is forever mixed with the sugar and flour.  That is exactly what happens with a thermoset.  

Epoxy resins are thermoset polymers.  Because thermosets cannot be broken down and reheated, it makes them a very stable material in temperature changes.   

Now there are different epoxies, hence the different names.  This is due to the epoxy ring found at their molecule structure.  This ring leaves the molecule structure open to all different kinds of chemical formations but at the base of these molecules, you will find the epoxy ring in each one of the epoxy materials.

Because they have that ring, it allows for many types of epoxy and thus different uses from electrical coatings, wind turbines, special paints, circuit boards, electronics, communication components, and more.  

Is Epoxy Resin Plastic?

Have we answered your question – Is Epoxy Resin Plastic?  To eb clear – it is.

Have special a design that requires Epoxy Resin? Not sure if it’s the right material for your project? We can help and create the exact product for your needs and requirements. Call us today for a free consultation.