Book excerpt: High performance engineering plastics are used in a vast range of applications and environments. They are becoming increasingly important because of trends towards more reliable and higher performance machines and devices. This book aims at the development of a working knowledge and understanding of high performance engineering plastics. It starts with a simple, practical overview of key properties and principles. In each of the chapters there are sections on production chemistry, product forms, properties, processing and applications. There is a strong bias towards materials and concepts whic.