What is the difference between a Thermoset and a Thermoplastic Polymer?
To describe the difference, one can use the simple analogy of reshaping wax and cooking an egg. Wax melts with the application of heat and can be poured into moulds and allowed to harden into various shapes. To change the shape of the wax, all one has to do is re-melt it and pour it into a mould with a different shape. Thermoplastic materials function in this manner inasmuch as they consist of independent molecules of various lengths, shapes and sizes. The size and shape of the molecules determine the melt temperature and the pressure required to shape the material. Thermoplastic materials can be formulated yield a wide variety of properties including impact resistance, chemical resistance and adhesive strengths. They are widely used in sealing cartons and a variety of highly sophisticated applications. Once an egg is cooked, no amount of heat can re-melt it back to a liquid. The same applies to thermoset plastics. When thermoset plastics harden, they form cross linked bonds that make
