LINKS BETWEEN LABORATORY TEST DATA AND SERVICE PERFORMANCE.

There is an increasing need for plastics properties data used in engineering design to bear more relevance to service requirements. One step toward achieving this has been to establish an automatic system which handles the data more effectively. This system, mounted on a suitable computer, allows the designer to retrieve appropriate data quickly and simply and then automatically apply them to the problem at hand. A system for handling impact data has been proposed and the need for statistical analysis to assess fluctuations and trends has been highlighted. The importance of collaboration between the fabricators and the end-users to ensure the success of this approach is stressed.