TPR is an injection resin, which is a kind of copolymer material or a physical mixture of plastic and rubber. TPR materials not only have certain physical properties of rubber and plastics, but also have thermoplastic and elastic properties. TPR pellet making extruder is very suitable for processing by injection molding. We will find more in this article.
The following knowledge points are listed below:
l Basics about TPR
l TPR properties
l What Are Thermoplastic Resins
l Difference between TPR and TPE material
Thermoplastic rubber (TPR) is a material that combines the characteristics of rubber and plastic. Like all plastics when people talk about "rubber", they usually don't specify which type. There are many different types of rubber, but they are divided into two categories: natural rubber (from trees) and synthetic rubber (man-made rubber).
Just like its name, TPR is a thermoplastic, a synthetic rubber. This means it melts into a liquid when heated, and becomes a solid when cooled.
Unlike natural rubber (latex) extracted from rubber trees, TPR is synthesized from the polymer SBS (styrene-butadiene-styrene). SBS is a third-generation "block copolymer", which means that there are blocks of each monomer (styrene-butadiene-styrene) in the polymer instead of being randomly distributed.
Natural rubber and synthetic rubber are similar in some respects, but they are manufactured by completely different processes and chemical properties.
Once vulcanized or cured, natural rubber cannot be reused. However, TPR two stage extruding machine can be recycled/reshaped because it does not have crosslinks like natural rubber and can be recrystallized several times.
Thermoplastic rubber TPR is a material with both rubber and plastic characteristics. TPR material is a form of synthetic rubber, which means that it melts into a liquid when heated and becomes a solid when cooled. Some of the advantages of TPR rubber and plastic materials include:
l High bending fatigue resistance
l Good tear and abrasion resistance
l Good dielectric properties
l Excellent weather resistance and chemical resistance
l High impact strength
l Elastic similar to cross-linked rubber material
l There are a variety of hardness testers to choose from, from 20 Shore durometer to 85 Shore durometers
l Wide temperature range: -30°C to 140°C (-22°F to 284°F)
l Combine the appearance, feel and elasticity of thermosetting rubber with the processability of plastics
l Recyclables.
What Are Thermoplastic Resins
Thermoplastic resin is a plastic material that solidifies when heated to a certain temperature and cooled to ambient temperature. The thermoplastic resin maintains a high molecular weight, which makes the intermolecular force connecting its polymer chains rapidly weaken as the temperature increases, making the material a viscous liquid. This makes thermoplastic resins an ideal material for injection molding, because heated materials can easily flow into the mold under pressure, filling the entire cavity, even in molds with complex geometries.
Difference between TPR and TPE material
Both thermoplastic elastomers and thermoplastic elastomers belong to thermoplastics. These two materials have similar characteristics and are difficult to distinguish on the surface. However, there are many differences in separating these materials and allowing them to be used in different applications.
As a basic material, TPE and TPR materials are completely different. Thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) is modified from SEBS matrix material, and TPR is usually modified from SBS. The SEBS substrate of TPE is softer than TPR. However, TPR materials have the combination of rubber properties and thermoplastic molding capabilities. TPR extruder with water ring also provides a better physical range than TPE and provides greater overall flexibility. But TPE has better chemical resistance and abrasion resistance than TPR, and is usually used in the shoe and automotive industries.
So, after reading this article you may probably have some basic knowledge about the TPR material.
