Training FAQs

So why do we need training?

Interestingly, in many cases mechanical and system engineers were not immersed in “non-metallics”, so when they start to investigate how to address a specific need – say, lighter weight – it’s common for them to need someone to educate them.

Understanding engineering plastics, advantages and, more importantly, their limitations, enables them to make better initial decisions, or at least ask better questions.

What do you mean by “training” for engineering plastics?

Despite engineering plastics being so commonly used in industrial equipment, there remains a knowledge gap about the specific properties, advantages and limitations of the wide (and getting wider) range of engineering plastics and composites.

This is at all levels: OEM, MRO, fabricators and plastics distributors. Most mills (or converters – take raw plastic materials and process them into usable shapes) offer training modules.

Can’t we just use the internet and AI?

Currently, AI is an information summarization tool. It very quickly scours the internet sources for data and presents a relatively concise summary to answer the specific inquiry.

There are two problems with this: first, the internet has some really questionable data floating out there, and AI doesn’t know good information from bad information. Second, the only way to get something remotely helpful is to ask the question very specifically, and without some base information most designers ask very general questions and get general answers. Even with focused questions, much mission-critical information is usually missing from the response, and that’s a safety concern.

So, if others offer training, what makes your training different?

All mill training focuses on what they offer – their tradenames, their specific advantages, etc – and often spend time telling you how their stuff is better than other suppliers’ stuff.

My approach is “generic training” – presenting the basic product profile for each material type in a simple format, no “producer positioning”. Indeed, there are some differences between the mills making the same material, and those can be discussed.

I’m not “selling”; I’m educating so you can better asses your needs and possible materials.