2010 – 03 – Types of Materials

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There are a wide variety of categories that manufacturers use to organize types of materials. Typically, each material will fall into these four categories; Metal, Plastic, Ceramic, or Composite. All the materials in each category are going to be similar because their internal structures are the same.

All materials are made up of particles arranged in repeating patterns. It is this pattern that determines the properties of the material. Plastics, for example, are arranged in long, unbreaking chains. Depending how particles are stacked and how tightly packed they are, the material will react in a wide variety of ways.