List presents good look at processors’ material wish lists

Want to find a material data sheet? The answer to that question often takes plastics processors to IDES Inc., a popular online search tool and informational resource for plastic materials.

The company, based in Laramie, WY, has published a report of the most popular plastic materials of 2009, based on the number of times a material's datasheet was accessed. Topping the list is Sabic Innovative Plastics' Lexan polycarbonate at 91,394; the top competing polycarbonate, Bayer Material Science's Makrolon, was 7th with 37,334. DuPont's Zytel polyamide came in second with its datasheet accessed 61,210 times. The table of the top 10 material searches is on the left; to view the full report, go to: www.ides.com/reports/2009.

The IDES' website offers processors free access to datasheets on plastics offered by more than 700 suppliers. IDES reports that in 2009, the users of its site downloaded 3.2 million datasheets, a 33% increase over 2008. —mpweditorial@cancom.com