Plastic Part Marking – Overview Codes and Standards

 In this blog post, we have a closer look at the plastic part marking standards and their differences.

I made a short presentation about this topic which you can watch here:

Why Part Marking Codes?

Identification of plastics products is easier with a part marking system. This allows for better decision making for:

•        handling plastic products,
•        better waste recovery
•        more efficient disposal.

Overview of Marking Standards

There are three main standards; however there are additional ones for each of the polymers.

ISO 11469:2016: Generic identification and marking of plastics products

Example: acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene polymer “>ABS<”

ASTM D7611: Resin Identification Codes (RICs) consisting out of a equilateral triangle, Resin Identification Number, and abbreviated term for polymeric material.

Example:

ISO 1043, ISO 1629 (rubber), ISO 18064 (TPE): Plastics – Symbols and abbreviated terms:

Part 1: Basic polymers and their special characteristics

Part 2: Fillers and reinforcing materials

Part 3: Plasticizers

Part 4: Flame Retardants

Example:

Summary of standards:

 

Thanks for reading and #findoutaboutplastics

Herwig

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