Living in a Materials World

Sustainability initiatives often involve reducing plastics, but in many cases, that may be a mistake. From lightweighting to reducing lubricants to recyclability, plastics could contribute to environmental health.

For instance, motion plastics company igus offers tribologically optimized plastics that have been designed to minimize friction and wear and eliminate lubricant use in moving applications. Tribo plastics may even be able to replace metal components in a range of applications. Such materials are just one example of how plastics can be used to promote sustainable operations.

In this ebook, “Living in a Materials World,” we explore the features and benefits of plastics, and we examine a few applications and best practices that will help engineers design sustainable solutions.