Hybrid materials are not really a clearly defined material category but result from integration of one or more polymers on the one hand and, on the other hand, one or more other materials which provide one or more functionalities difficult or impossible to obtain with only one polymer.
The hybrid techniques often associate polymers and metals and combine the benefits of the two material classes. The metal provides the rigidity and the overmoulded (reinforced) plastic keeps the general shape of the metal adding 3D details allowing to include numerous functionalities.
There is also a growing interest in the association of elastic polymers, which assume the sealing, damping or soft touch functionalities, to rigid plastics or composites that have the structural role.
The polymer/metal hybrids allow, by associating simple and inexpensive plastic processes (injection moulding, for example) with simple and inexpensive metal processes (stamping, embossing, bending), the integration, thanks to the plastic elements, of the maximum number of functionalities: mountings, fastening points, fixings, cable holders, housings, eyelets, clips, etc.