What is ABS?

ABS plastic is a terpolymer composed of acrylonitrile (A), butadiene (B), and styrene (S). Each component contributes distinct properties: acrylonitrile offers high hardness, strength, heat resistance, and corrosion resistance; butadiene provides excellent impact resistance and toughness; styrene imparts high surface gloss, ease of coloring, and good processability. The synergy among these three components results in a thermoplastic material known for its well-balanced properties of “toughness, hardness, and rigidity.” By adjusting the ratio of these monomers, ABS can be tailored to meet specific performance

requirements, leading to variants such as high-impact ABS, heat-resistant ABS, and high-gloss ABS. ABS exhibits excellent processability and can be formed through injection molding, extrusion, and thermoforming. It is also amenable to secondary machining operations including sawing, drilling, filing, and grinding. Furthermore, ABS can be bonded using organic solvents like chloroform and is suitable for painting, electroplating, and other surface treatments. As a material, it serves as an ideal substitute for wood and construction materials thanks to its high strength, light weight, hard and smooth surface, ease of cleaning, dimensional stability, and good creep resistance. Its role as an electroplating substrate is also noteworthy. The range of applications for ABS continues to expand widely across industries. Typical ABS injection-molded products include housings, cases, components, and toys, while extruded forms such as sheets, rods, and pipes can be further processed via hot pressing, lamination, and molding.