[rescue] plastics reaction

[Dan Canaan]

At 01:28 AM 4/24/03 -0400, you wrote:
>This isn't exactly rescue per se.... however....
>
>I just moved a printer in storage from one location to another location.
>There was a printer cable wrapped around the paper feed "tray" (this is
>a HP Inkjet printer).
>
>Where the cable was wrapped around, the oils/chemicals in the plastics
>of the printer cable insulation reacted with the printer plastics, and
>softened/melted them (thankfully not badly) in the contact area between
>the two different plastics !


Rubber and plastic touching can result this reaction.  Petroleum does 
eventually leeech out of the materials and soften like materials.  Often 
times they don't go back to being rigid surfaces either- perpetually 
gooey.  You can see this reaction sometimes by wrapping rubber bands around 
some plastic item and leaving it alone for a period of time.  Long enough 
and the rubber band will eat into the plastic (assuming it doesn't break 
first).

-Vegaman Dan
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