TPE Material Processing

详情

Raw Material Used : TPE

Applications :
Outdoor / Sporting equipment such as: 1. Hydration Bladder, Water bag...etc ​


Thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), sometimes referred to as thermoplastic rubbers, are a class of copolymers or a physical mix of polymers (usually a plastic and a rubber) which consist of materials with both thermoplastic and elastomeric properties. While most elastomers are thermosets, thermoplastics are in contrast relatively easy to use in manufacturing, for example, by injection molding.

 

Thermoplastic elastomers show advantages typical of both rubbery materials and plastic materials. The principal difference between thermoset elastomers and thermoplastic elastomers is the type of cross-linking bond in their structures. In fact, crosslinking is a critical structural factor which imparts high elastic properties.

Advantages

TPE materials have the potential to be recyclable since they can be molded, extruded and reused like plastics, but they have typical elastic properties of rubbers which are not recyclable owing to their thermosetting characteristics. TPE also require little or no compounding, with no need to add reinforcing agents, stabilizers or cure systems. Hence, batch-to-batch variations in weighting and metering components are absent, leading to improved consistency in both raw materials and fabricated articles. TPEs can be easily colored by most types of dyes. Besides that, it consumes less energy and closer and more economical control of product quality is possible.