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Plastic %&*(ing Fantastic

Plecostomus said:
I'm a Plastic Man, I love plastic and all the wonderful stuff it can do... there is a material for every application it seems. It can be molded, milled, formed, shaped, bent, extruded... anything you can do to metal you can do to plastic.


That said whoever invented that sh1t they make those "blister packs" (the clear packages they seal new electronics in) with needs to be violated in the most horrific was possible, then executed... AED'd back to life and killed a second time.

Why the hate? I just cut myself and required five stitches trying to get my new MusicPod out of the package. Hooray for quick-turnaround medical clinic one and a half clicks from my house. :techman:
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Testify! Add to the list the guy that got the bright idea SCREW toys into the cardboard packaging with little tiny as all hell Phillips screws, the wrap rubber bands around them to top it off.

Plecostomus said:
Zion Ravescene said:
How about a pair of scissors? Scissors beats plastic, plastic shrink-wraps rock, etc.
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10-804_web_detail.jpg


It also has a regular utility blade on the other end.

That's what I was using. Fresh blade too.


Oh well the spot where they ripped my kidney out doesn't hurt as bad now. :guffaw:
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Hmmm, I've been looking for something like that to replace my Kobalt 2-blade (It's worn out, and the blade retention clips wasn't all the great to start with), what's the model on that Stanley?
 
Plecostomus said:
I'm a Plastic Man, I love plastic and all the wonderful stuff it can do... there is a material for every application it seems. It can be molded, milled, formed, shaped, bent, extruded... anything you can do to metal you can do to plastic.


That said whoever invented that sh1t they make those "blister packs" (the clear packages they seal new electronics in) with needs to be violated in the most horrific was possible, then executed... AED'd back to life and killed a second time.

Why the hate? I just cut myself and required five stitches trying to get my new MusicPod out of the package. Hooray for quick-turnaround medical clinic one and a half clicks from my house. :techman:
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I hear you. Those packages are awful. I love plastic too and try and use as many bags as possible when at the supermarket, especially with the impending global cooling.

However, glass has plastic beat hands down when it comes to soda bottles. Not even close.
 
I hate all that plastic packaging. And think of how much it adds to the cost of the item....
 
For a second I thought this thread was an ad for the American Chemistry Council. But then it turned where it did.

I don't like the blister packaging either. I also have to admit to never seriously cutting myself opening one though. The fact that I have to say "seriously" shouldn't be necessary though. The plastic is sharp.

Did you cut yourself on the knife or the plastic?
 
Tharpdevenport said:
Thos packages are harder to open. theives used to be able to rip cheap ones open and stell things more easily. With packages you need scissors of box cutters for, you'd get caught far too easily and have to work it far too long.
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In my experience, better security measures like tough as hell plastic just creates better thieves who adapt to the changes.
 
Actually, there's a new tool available... not sure of the name, but it's really inexpensive and simple. Do not buy those pricey and more complicated tools available on the market.

The tool looks like an enlarged guitar pick. It has a translucent blue body with a silver tip. On the edge of the silver part is a very tiny protrusion. It will not cut your finger. But if you press it down on those plastic packages, it slices right through that plastic. I use this to open those blister packages now.

There is another tool available, called MyOpenX. It looks like it's a little more competent, because it slices through both sides. The "guitar pick" version does just one side. But I think it may be a little more safety friendly as you don't end up with jagged edges on the packaging that might cut you later on.

Oh, but then you can use a can opener for this purpose too. ;)


And... want to know why companies are using such frustrating packaging? Listen to NPR for details.
 
Answer to the question above, I cut my hand on the knife. Plastic set up a molecular orientation as it is extruded and stretch-thermoformed, leading to regions of "strain" that are harder to cut that others... on the other tentacle there are regions where the material is weaker. When cutting from a region of toughness to a region of weakness the knife slipped out of the material and whoops.

*shrug* Frankly there are other methods of packaging that are just as inexpensive and just as secure as blister pack material.
 
Plecostomus said:
Answer to the question above, I cut my hand on the knife. Plastic set up a molecular orientation as it is extruded and stretch-thermoformed, leading to regions of "strain" that are harder to cut that others... on the other tentacle there are regions where the material is weaker. When cutting from a region of toughness to a region of weakness the knife slipped out of the material and whoops.

*shrug* Frankly there are other methods of packaging that are just as inexpensive and just as secure as blister pack material.
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I'm curious now - what else apart from plastic is as secure and cheap?
 
Different plastic materials formed under different conditions combined with shrink-wrap and cardboard.

What bugs me is each time there is a packaging design change millions of dollars of molds, tools, dies, and packaging machinery has to be scrapped and redesigned. That's the real reason they use this method rather than a product in a formed tray in a cardboard and clear-window box with shrink-wrap.

Security my ass. :p
 
^ Ah, gotcha, I see. I thought maybe there was another completely different material I was blanking on, rather than another kind of plastic.
 
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