Plastics Hall Of Fame's Irvin I. Rubin

by David White

(WebOptimiser.com and WireNews+Co) - London, England - 10 August 2012

Irvin I. Rubin, a New York plastics veteran who wrote the seminal technical book, "Injection Molding, Theory and Practice," has died aged 93. His book became one of the all-time best selling plastics industry books.

Member of the Plastics Pioneers Association in U.S., Rubin was inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame in 1994. He developed many technical processes in the plastics industry, especially in the field of injection molding.

His career in plastics began in 1940 as technical director of the molding plant of Robinson Plastics Corp., in New York City. From 1942 to 1945, he was chief shift chemist at Montrose Chemical Co., in charge of producing tri-cresyl phosphate plasticizer for PVC cable for the war effort. From 1945 to 1946, he ran the manufacturing plant of Columbia Plastic Products, which fabricated acrylic products.

In 1946, Rubin joined Robinson Plastic Corporation. In 1967, he purchased the company and became its president. He was responsible for injection molding, designing, engineering, and production. From 1962, he was president and owner of Irvin I. Rubin Plastics Corp., a manufacturer of plastics medical devices and equipment.

In the 1960s, Rubin published his first series of technical articles. His first book, Theory and Practice of Injection Molds and Molding, was published in 1972. In 1977, he wrote the chapter on injection molds and molding in Introduction to Polymer Science and Technology.

In 1990, he edited the Handbook of Plastics Materials and Technology and wrote the chapter on injection molds and molding in the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) Plastics Engineering Handbook.

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