How To Select The Right Plastic For Your Prototype: Is ABS The Answer?

Choosing the right plastic for a prototype is confusing. Selecting the wrong one wastes time and money. Let's see if ABS is the right choice for your project.

ABS is an excellent choice for many prototypes. It offers a great balance of strength, toughness, good machinability, and low cost. This makes it a versatile and reliable material for early design models, functional testing, and even some end-use parts.

I've worked with many clients, like Mark from Canada, who have a brilliant design but get stuck on material selection. It's a critical step that feels overwhelming. But making the right choice early on saves so much headache and cost down the line. A good material makes your prototype work as intended, while a poor choice can lead to failed tests and expensive redesigns. Let me walk you through the process I use to help my clients select the perfect plastic, starting with how to identify what you're working with.

How to determine if plastic is ABS?

You have a plastic part, but you're not sure what it is. Using the wrong material for comparison can ruin your tests and lead to bad data. Here are simple ways to identify ABS.

You can identify ABS plastic through simple tests. It produces a distinct acrid smell when burned and dissolves in acetone. It is also naturally opaque and has a low-gloss surface. For 100% certainty, we use professional methods like spectroscopy in our quality lab.

When a client sends us a part to replicate or improve upon, the first step is always material identification if it's not specified. While our engineers use advanced tools, there are some practical tests you can try yourself. Just be sure to do them in a well-ventilated area and with proper safety gear.

The Burn Test

This is a classic "shop floor" method. When you carefully introduce a small piece of ABS to a flame, it will burn with a yellow flame and produce sooty, black smoke. The most telling sign is the smell; it has a very distinct, sharp, acrid odor, a bit like burning rubber. Other plastics behave differently. For instance, Polypropylene (PP) will drip like a candle and smell waxy.

The Acetone Test

This is another simple and effective test. Place a drop of acetone (nail polish remover often works) on an inconspicuous spot of the plastic. ABS is soluble in acetone. After a few moments, the spot will become tacky, soft, or even dissolve completely. This is a clear indicator of ABS. In contrast, materials like Polycarbonate (PC) or Nylon won't have a significant reaction to acetone. This is a a great way to tell them apart.

How to choose the right plastic material?

The list of available plastics for prototyping is long and overwhelming. Choosing blindly can lead to a prototype that cracks, melts, or fails its most basic tests. Let's build a simple framework for your decision.

To choose the right plastic, consider four key factors: its mechanical properties, its working temperature, its chemical resistance, and your budget. Your prototype's specific function and environment will guide you to the best material that meets both performance needs and cost targets.

Choosing a material is a balancing act. There is no single "best" plastic, only the "best" plastic for your specific application. Before I even suggest a material to a client, I ask them to think about a few core questions. Answering these will narrow down the options from dozens to just two or three logical choices.

What is the prototype's purpose?

First, think about what the prototype needs to do. Is it just a visual model to show investors? Then aesthetics and low cost are key, and ABS or Acrylic might be perfect. Is it a functional prototype that needs to withstand stress? Then you need to consider strength and durability. For a part with snap-fit features, you'll need something with good flexibility like Nylon or PP. For a part that needs to be very rigid and strong, PC or a glass-filled Nylon might be better.

What environment will it be in?

Second, where will this prototype be used? If it will be exposed to high temperatures, you need a material with a high heat deflection temperature, like PEEK or ULTEM. If it's going to be in contact with chemicals, oils, or solvents, you must check for chemical resistance. For example, ABS has poor resistance to certain solvents, but PP is very resistant to many chemicals. Thinking about the environment prevents failures later on.

What is the best plastic for prototype?

You want the best possible material for your prototype. But with so many options, "best" can be a very confusing term. It can lead to over-engineering and high costs if you're not careful.

There is no single "best" plastic for all prototypes. The best choice depends entirely on your project's specific needs. For general-purpose, early-stage prototypes, ABS is often the top contender because it offers a fantastic balance of performance, machinability, and affordability.

I often tell my clients to avoid searching for a single "best" material. Instead, we should look for the most suitable material. The goal of a prototype is to test a concept quickly and affordably. Choosing an expensive, high-performance material for a simple visual model is a waste of money. Here, I break down some of the most common materials we use at Worthy Hardware and where they shine. This can help you find what is "best" for you.

Top Choices for Prototyping

As you can see, the "best" material truly depends on what you need that prototype to do. For most of my clients making new consumer products or hardware, we almost always start with ABS. It is strong enough for testing, cheap enough for multiple iterations, and machines beautifully.

Which is better ABS plastic or plastic?

You've heard of "plastic" as a general term and "ABS" as a specific one. Are they different? Is one inherently better than the other for your project? Let's clear up this common confusion.

"Plastic" is a broad category of materials. ABS is one specific type of plastic within that category. Asking which is better is like asking if a sedan or a vehicle is better. ABS is often superior for prototyping due to its specific, well-balanced properties.

This question often comes from clients who are new to manufacturing. It's a great question because it gets to the heart of material selection. "Plastic" is a family name for a huge range of synthetic materials called polymers. This family includes everything from the film used in grocery bags (Polyethylene) to the material in bulletproof glass (Polycarbonate). Each type has a unique set of properties.

Why ABS Stands Out

ABS, which stands for Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, is an engineered thermoplastic. It’s not just a simple plastic; it’s a specific blend designed for performance.

• Acrylonitrile provides chemical resistance and thermal stability.
• Butadiene provides toughness and impact strength.
• Styrene provides a nice, glossy finish and rigidity.

This combination is why we call ABS a great all-arounder. Compared to a generic, unspecified "plastic" like the kind used in cheap toys, ABS is significantly stronger, more durable, and more stable at higher temperatures. At Worthy, we can machine ABS to very tight tolerances, down to +/- 0.005", which is difficult to achieve with softer, less stable plastics. This makes it a reliable and predictable material for creating accurate prototypes that function as intended.

Conclusion

In summary, ABS is a fantastic, low-cost, and versatile material for many prototypes. Always choose your plastic based on the specific mechanical, thermal, and cost requirements of your project.