Melanine was actually discovered in 1834 by Justus von Liebig, a German scientist, who first isolated the material as a colorless, crystalline compound. However, there was no practical use for the substance at that time. In the late 1930s, the cost of melamine in its raw form dropped to their lowest, and manufacturers began to consider practical applications for it. Called a “wonder plastic,” melamine was virtually unbreakable and dishwasher-safe, withstanding under conditions where brittle Bakelite and water-soluble resins had failed.

In the early to mid-1970s, Dixon Industries in Bristol, Rhode Island, concentrated their efforts to develop a material that would compete with melamine and be a filler for their patented and widely used Rulon^® material (created by Robert Rulon-Miller who was President at Dixon). This led to Ted Rulon-Miller creating “Melamine from Dixon,” which eventually became an early form of Meldin^® thermoset polyimide material. The “Mel” from the beginning letters of melamine and “din” from part of the letters in Dixon were used to create this Meldin^® name. First came the Meldin^® 2000 series followed by the Meldin^® 9000 & Meldin^® 8100 grades, which were porous polyimide structures.

The most popular polyimide solution remains the Meldin^® 7000 series, which was developed in the late 1990s and commercialized in 2001. To this day, the Meldin^® solution continues to provide the most complete range of high-performance thermoset polyimide materials and a diverse array of  engineered thermoplastic products based on polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polyetheretherketone (PEEK), and polyamide-imide (PAI). Each series is designed with unique characteristics and has been proven for specialized applications in aerospace, automotive, electronics, and other industries where high thermal resistance and good mechanical properties at high temperatures are required.