Because of the sheer size and scope of the plastics industry, the title
Developments in Plastics Technology now covers an incredibly wide range
of subjects or topics. No single volume can survey the whole field in
any depth and what follows is, therefore, a series of chapters on
selected topics. The topics were selected by us, the editors, because of
their immediate relevance to the plastics industry. When one considers
the advancements of the plastics processing machinery (in terms of its
speed of operation and conciseness of control), it was felt that several
chapters should be included which related to the types of control
systems used and the correct usage of hydraulics. The importance of
using cellular, rubber-modified and engineering-type plastics has had a
major impact on the plastics industry and therefore a chapter on each of
these subjects has been included. The two remaining chapters are on the
characterisation and behaviour of polymer structures, both subjects
again being of current academic or industrial interest. Each of the
contributions was written by a specialist in that field and to them all,
we, the editors, extend our heartfelt thanks, as writing a contribution
for a book such as this, while doing a full-time job, is no easy task.