A thermoplastic is a type of plastic made from polymer resins that becomes a homogenized liquid when heated and hard when cooled.
As similar as colonial iron manufacture was to that of medieval Europe, yet it differed greatly from the type of iron manufacture in eighteenth century early modern Europe. Existing conditions of natural resources greatly affected the development of technical innovation in the field of iron manufacture.
Pig iron, a very hard but brittle alloy of iron and carbon, was being produced in China as early as 1200 BC, but did not arrive in Europe until the Middle Ages. Pig iron has a lower melting point than iron, and was used for making cast-iron.