Common polymer (plastic) abbreviations

Have you ever looked at the molding mark on a plastic item and wondered what the heck the part was really was made of?

Most common polymers have standardized abbreviations.  Matweb has a page that provides a list of most of those abbreviations  ===>HERE<===

A short snippet of the list is included so you can see what it looks like.

PA	Polyamide (Nylon)
PA	Polyacrylate
PAE	Polyarylether
PAEK	Polyaryletherketone
PAI	Polyamide-Imide
PAMS	Poly(Alpha Methylstyrene)
PAN	Polyacrylonitrile
PARA	Polyarylamide (polyaramide)
PAS	Polyarylsulfone
PASA	Polyamide, Semi-Aromatic (Nylon)
PASU	Polyarylsulfone

Other information included in the molding mark usually includes the manufacturer, the cavity number and information regarding when the part was molded.  That way, problems can be traced back to specific cavities for tool work or performance issues can be sorted for on the basis of when discrepant material was molded.