Paraplast

Paraplast is a synthetic material with many uses all throughout the galaxy. The material is easy and cheap to produce, is highly resistant and very light.

History
Paraplast was invented in the later years of the Republic of humanity, around 8800 CE. Although it was known for its numerous benefits, it did not see whide spread use, until well into the Barzak War, because of the massive rate of attrition and the raids of the republic's supply lines by the seperatists.

Production
Paraplast is composed of many different polymeric materials, which are mixed in a molten state, at a temperature of around 3000°C. The next step is the addition of a mixture of chemicals, which permanently raise the melting point of the polymer mixture. Although the exact temperature can vary slightly, the melting point of paraplast is commonly around 1500°C. When the mixture of polymers and chemicals has cooled down, it is brittle and thus has to be tempered, by leaving it for prolonged time in a hight temperature of arund 600°C. After the tempering, the paraplast is finished.

Due to this production process, paraplast can already be cast into the final shape it is supposed to have, unlike most metals, which lose a significant ammount of their durability when cast.

Uses
Over the years paraplast has become a central part of both civillian and military manufacturing, due to it being easy to shape and usable for almost all purposes. But despite that, paraplast can not replace all building material, as there are specialized fields, which need materials with very specific properties, that paraplast can not fulfill.

Paraplast also has the nickname "The colonist's best friend" because it is perfectly suited to quickly build, very resistant shelters for the newly arrived inhabitants, but also on already inhabited worlds, paraplast is the best choice to quickly erect housing for the ever growing population.

In the military paraplast mostly finds use as infantry armour, due to t being esily shaped to fit the body of the soldiers. On vehicles it is rarer, but not completely unused, most vehicles still use metal alloys to protect the hull, since those just need to be flat, or slightly curved plates, which can be milled into shape. But turrets are often made out of paraplast, since it is the quicker method to create the intricate shapes, that are needed to maximize the turret's protection and its low weight also allows to minimize the overall weight of the vehicle, while not lowering the protection in a significant way.