Design and Manufacturing of Plastics Products

Design and Manufacturing of Plastics Products: Integrating Conventional Methods and Innovative Technologies brings together detailed information on design, materials selection, properties, manufacturing, and the performance of plastic products, incorporating the utilization of the latest novel techniques and additive manufacturing technologies. The book integrates the design of molded products and conventional manufacturing and molding techniques with recent additive manufacturing techniques to produce performant products and cost-effective tools. Key areas of innovation are explained in detail, including hybrid molds, the integration of processing options with product properties and performance, and sustainability factors such as eco-design strategies, recycling, and lifecycle assessment.

Other sections cover the development of plastics products, including design methodologies, design solutions specific to plastics, and design for re-use, as well as manufacturing and performance, with an emphasis on thermoplastic molding techniques, recent advances on plastics tooling, and the appraisal of the influence of processing options on product performance. This is a valuable resource to plastics engineers, design engineers, mold makers, and product or part designers across industries. It will also be of interest to researchers and advanced students in plastics engineering, polymer science, additive manufacturing and mechanical engineering.

  • Offers a thorough grounding in plastics part design, thermoplastic material selection, properties, manufacture and performance of plastic parts
  • Presents the latest advances, including the integration of additive manufacturing in the plastics product development cycle, hybrid molds, and lifecycle and recycling considerations
  • Enables the reader to utilize traditional methods alongside cutting-edge technologies in the production of performant plastic products and parts


Prof. António S. Pouzada was a Full Professor of Design with Plastics, at the Department of Polymer Engineering, University of Minho, Portugal, until his recent retirement. Prof. Pouzada's expertise covers design of plastics products, hybrid injection moulds for thermoplastics, micro-injection moulding, and the study of tribological aspects associated with the operation of injection moulds. He has authored or co-authored numerous book chapters and journal articles.
[Prof. Pouzada contributed a chapter on 'Processing, Design, and Performance of Plastics Products' to Brydson's Plastics Materials, Eighth Edition, published in October 2016.]