The polymer performance pyramid (Fig. 5) is ranking the various polymers according to price and temperature performance. Most polymers in the following collector examples are of commodity and engineering plastics. Generally, commodity plastics are used in high volume and for a broad range

of applications, e. g. packaging and house­hold products where mechanical properties and service environments are not critical. Such plastics exhibit relatively low me­chanical properties and low cost. Engineer­ing plastics are a group of plastic materials that exhibit good mechanical and thermal properties in a wide range of conditions. High-performance plastics have temperature resistance, strength, dimensional stability and chemical resistance even in demanding applications.