This is the crux of the matter. The plastics used in
consumer devices are
junk, and many times the implementation is done with little thought to
durability, only cost.
Sometimes plastics are used in very interesting ways. I remember one
Sony Walkman-style tape transport from the 1980's, where there were *zero*
metal screws in it. The entire assembly was snap-together plastic.
Cheap? Absolutely! But design-wise, very interesting.
Tim.