The Plastic Age
This anonymous article published in Fortune magazine in 1936 discusses the rapid emergence of plastics and speculates on how these materials will impact industry long term. The author offers advice to engineers that still apply to today's industries. Ultimately engineers and designers should ask whether using plastics creates genuine functional value rather than novelty. They should weigh whether a plastic solution meaningfully improves upon natural materials in strength, weight, or performance.
Man had learned how to make a great number of things ... But, by and large, industry was tied to the earth's apron strings and had never dreamed of creating a material world of its own (Anonymous, 1936, p. 149).
The synthetic plastic, therefore, is a glamorous substance and a tribute 10the powers of man. In the light of it the layman has been taught to believe that an age of plastics is at hand. There is a widespread impression that plastics have been making phenomenal industrial progress; thar they are about to supersede glass, wood, porcelain, rubber, and even metal; that, in short, instead of being conditioned by the demands of industry, they have reached a point where they themselves can condition those demands.
A designer should caution the use of plastics based on trends, fads, or mere competition with other companies. Instead, decisions should focus on proven benefits—durability, efficiency, or unique capabilities—rather than assuming plastics are always the superior option.
Are plastics, in their various branches, universal materials capable of displacing all others? One cannot hope to answer these questions while the industry is so young.
Engineers should avoid assuming plastics are universally applicable. They should evaluate suitability on a case-by-case basis, testing plastics against actual performance requirements.
When a plastic is substituted for some other material it is always for one of three reasons: (1) it may possess physical properties, other than color, that make it practically indispensable... (2) it may be cheaper than the material it replaces... (3) it may have some desirable qualities... that make it preferable even at a fraction-ally higher cost but not beyond a certain differential.
When, on the other hand, an article which obviously might be made of plastics is not, there are also three broad reasons: (1) greater cost... (2) mechanical limitations ... and (3) the remoteness of most of the manufacturers of plastic materials ...
Designers should measure plastics against these three criteria—performance, cost, and added qualities. If plastics cannot outperform or offer meaningful tradeoffs, another material may be better suited, such as wood, glass, natural fabrics, rubbers, and metal.
An ideal article for plastics is the doorknob, but the hard-ware and lock industries have such big investments in machinery for metal doorknobs that they will not change, and there is little that the plastics manufacturer can do about it.
Designers should recognize that material choice is shaped not just by performance, but by existing infrastructure and changes in industry. Adoption of plastics should be justified in light of long-term feasibility and compatibility with manufacturing systems. In addition, designers must consider the total lifecycle of these products and how they will be managed once disposed.
References
Anonymous. (1936). What Man Has Joined Together... , Fortune Magazine
