Plastics
celluloid: Celluloid (also known as cell horn) is a group of plastic compounds made from cellulose nitrate and camphor. Celluloid is considered the first thermoplastic. You can easily melt and shape it. For the first time, celluloid was used to produce imitations of luxury items from natural products such as ivory, amber, corals, lapis lazuli, ebony, substance, tortoiseshell or mother-of-pearl ("perloid") in mass production (die casting technology). The first celluloid was produced in 1856 by Alexander Parkes, but he did not succeed in exploiting his invention Parkesine. The name celluloid originated from the trademark "Celluloïd" registered in 1870 of the Celluloid Manufacturing Company, which produced the celluloids protected by the patents of John Wesley Hyatt. Hyatt had been looking for an inexpensive replacement material for the ivory of billiard balls, developing a process in which heat and pressure simplified production. In 1878 he had bought Parkes the patent for Parkesine.
cellulose acetate: (abbreviation CA, also cellulose acetate, formerly acetylcellulose) Cellulose acetate is one of the oldest thermoplastics and, as a derivative of the natural product cellulose, is counted among the bio-based plastics that were formerly also referred to as semi-synthetic fibers in their fiber form.
galalith (casein): Galalite (artificial horn, milkstone; in Great Britain Erinoid) is an old trade name for a thermosetting casein plastic, which was developed in 1897 by Wilhelm Krische and Adolf Spitteler. Galalite is formed from casein and formaldehyde by crosslinking the protein chains.
ebonite (hardrubber): Ebonite is a particularly hard rubber made of natural rubber and sulfur, which can be easily machined. In 1851, ebonite was invented by Charles Goodyear. The name of the originally almost black material refers to ebony. Ebonit is now available in many different colors.
acrylic (Perspex, Lucite): Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is a transparent thermoplastic. Acrylic glass was developed around the same time in 1928 in Germany, Great Britain and Spain.
polyurethane (Alumilite): Polyurethanes (abbreviation PUR or PU) are plastics or synthetic resins. Depending on the degree of crosslinking and/or components used, thermosets, thermoplastics or elastomers are obtained, and are used, for example, as casting resins (isocyanate resins).
epoxy: Epoxy resin or abbreviated EP resin refers to reaction resins that react after mixing with a hardener to form a thermosetting plastic. The hardener is a reaction partner. Depending on the application, dyes and other additives can be incorporated. After curing, epoxy resins have good mechanical properties as well as good temperature and chemical resistance and are considered high-quality but expensive plastics.