{"id":1652,"date":"2020-04-06T13:55:11","date_gmt":"2020-04-06T12:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.becgroup.com\/?p=1652"},"modified":"2024-09-03T14:34:06","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T13:34:06","slug":"material-of-the-month-tpe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.becgroup.com\/material-of-the-month\/material-of-the-month-tpe\/","title":{"rendered":"Material of the month &#8211; TPE"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We love talking material selection with clients, whether they\u2019re product designers or product engineers, when we assess any NPI (New Product Introduction) one of the most important things to iron out is \u201cwhich material is best suited to the product?\u201d and, increasingly importantly, \u201cwill it be recyclable?\u201d \u00a0When it comes to TPEs (Thermo Plastic Elastomers) the answer is <strong>YES<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>FLEXIBILITY AND RIGIDITY COMBINED <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Although TPEs are part of the elastomer family, unlike rubber, they can be recycled and reused to make something else. With recycling taken into account, TPEs become even more attractive to product designers and product engineers for a myriad of components and tools.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Let\u2019s talk properties. <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Because TPEs combine the soft, bendy characteristics of rubber with the processing advantage of thermoplastics, they\u2019re great for all sorts of components; automotive parts, home appliance seals or bottle cap liners but also their flexible, tactile feel makes them ideal for overmoulding.\u00a0 We often use TPEs for overmoulding over a rigid substrate to give them grip; think toothbrush or screwdriver handle.<\/p>\n<p>We also use TPE for encapsulating smart chips (RFID) for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.becgroup.com\/news\/the-beauty-of-wearable-tech\/\">wearable tech<\/a>, namely personalised payment bands for high profile events.\u00a0 We <a href=\"https:\/\/www.becgroup.com\/project\/marine-electronics-products\/\">overmould circuit boards<\/a> and RFID chips for contactless payment systems.\u00a0 Some of these mouldings are skin contact so we use specialist, medical grade TPEs.<\/p>\n<p>TPEs can also be food contact certified. We used TPEs for the seal of a ground-breaking hot chocolate shaker we manufactured for a client.\u00a0 The seal stops the hot chocolate leaking, as well as being flexible, it increases the volume of the shaker when the pressure\u2019s increased.<\/p>\n<p>Did we mention that TPEs enable a faster production turnaround time than traditional rubber?\u00a0 Here at BEC we have a vast range of production techniques available, so whether you\u2019re at the NPI stage of product development or improving an existing product, TPEs are definitely worth a look.\u00a0 It can reduce costs when compared to traditional rubbers, as well as improve the customer perception of the product. <em>\u00a0<\/em>The different properties and the easy processing qualities of TPEs make it a really useful material option.<\/p>\n<h2>Here\u2019s a quick run through of TPEs pros and cons:<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Pros<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Symbol;\">\u00b7<\/span><\/span> Impressive impact strength &#8211; one of the best materials available<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Symbol;\">\u00b7<\/span><\/span> Flexible<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Symbol;\">\u00b7<\/span><\/span> Many grades and levels of hardness available (Shore A hardness 20-90)<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Symbol;\">\u00b7<\/span><\/span> Bonds to substrate when over moulded (soft touch, impact protection)<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Symbol;\">\u00b7<\/span><\/span> Rubber feel (no cross linking required)<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Symbol;\">\u00b7<\/span><\/span> Faster production than traditional rubber (injection v compression)<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Symbol;\">\u00b7<\/span><\/span> Medical, skin contact, FDA grades available<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cons<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Symbol;\">\u00b7<\/span><\/span> Can be expensive<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Symbol;\">\u00b7<\/span><\/span> Can creep over time<\/p>\n<p><strong>Did you know? <\/strong><br \/>\nMost people come in to contact with TPE every morning and can thank it for their bright smile.\u00a0Without the TPE Overmoulding grip they might have dropped their toothbrush!<\/p>\n<p>If flexible, soft and recyclable are on your check list, then TPEs might be the right material for your NPI.\u00a0 Call our team of plastic injection moulding experts to discuss further, we\u2019d love to help (and we love a challenge!).\u00a0 Give us a call on: 01425 613131 or <a href=\"mailto:hello@becgroup.com\">email<\/a> us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Material of the Month:  TPEs:  Read about the qualities of rubber in recyclable form&#8230;.. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.becgroup.com\/material-of-the-month\/material-of-the-month-tpe\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1726,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-material-of-the-month"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Material of the Month \u2013 TPE - Pros and Cons<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"BEC Group have 41 years experience in plastic injection moulding and tooling. 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