Thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPV)- Their Industrial and Manufacturing Benefits
Industrial and manufacturing activities are evolving by day to respond to the demands placed on them by end users. The need for flexibility, dependability, and long-term performance has pushed manufacturing entities within the plastics niche to adopt high performing elastomers such as Thermoplastic Vulcanizates (TPV).
These polymers comprise EPDM rubber, polypropylene, and other products, exhibiting rubber properties while at the same time giving plastic manufacturers the ease of processing. There are cited benefits industrial and manufacturing players can reap from TPVs such as Santoprene TPV irrespective of their applications.
Excellence in Performance
If you are an engineer or designer seeking to produce products with excellent physical properties, durable sealing capabilities, and high-end finished appearance, TPVs can enable you to achieve your objective. On the part of sealing performance, these elastomers have long-term aging durability and withstands high-stress environments. Manufacturers and industrialists using these materials have witnessed firsthand, their excellent flexibility, above average tear strength, and its low odour properties. Makers of automotive parts to be used in interior décor have benefited immensely from this family of polymers because of their excellent surface qualities and aspect harmonisation between parts.
Reduced System Cost
Instead of opting for heavier polymeric materials, industrial and manufacturing companies can cut their production costs as well as enhance their manufacturing efficiency by using Thermoplastic Vulcanizates. These materials give industrialists design flexibilities by allowing for co-extrusion with other soft and hard polymers. For instance, TPV Santoprene extrusion helps manufacturers to process multiple plastics into a single piece with precise design tolerances. This elastomer can also be injected molded, thermoformed, or blow molded, which makes it easily processed on thermoplastics equipment and in the end lower manufacturing costs. These benefits clearly set Thermoplastic Vulcanizates apart from other materials such as thermoset rubber.
Sustainability
Engineers are regularly challenged to ensure the applications they develop minimise environmental impact. While this is a tall order for many manufacturers, the use of thermoplastic elastomers has opened a potential avenue through which engineers can produce low-environmental impact products. Most TPVs have a lower density compared to other materials such as ethylene propylene diene and thermoset rubber. This greatly reduces part weight. In addition, these materials reduce overall waste during the manufacturing process because the scrap produced can be recycled. As opposed to other materials, the processing of TPVs doesn't require heat curing thereby significantly reducing manufacturing energy costs. Facility and overhead costs are also lowered because TPV extrusion uses minimal manufacturing space.
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