The widespread use of thermplastic elastomers, TPEs, commerically as the material of choice for elastomeric parts has made their adoption a common focus for those developing new parts. It is common to pay a great deal of attention to the particular performance needs of a part and assessing the best TPE candidate for the application and to the design of the part to meet its function. The TPE classes are:
* Block copolymers
* Blends
* Reactive alloys
There are a variety of product grades with different chemical performance and characteristics that are available within these classes. These grades also provide a range of rheological properties that make it possible for them to be processed by the main thermoplastic processes. It is important to consider the various processing technology options and to select the best one for a TPE part.
The main processing methods for rigid thermoplastics are readily adaptable to TPEs.The main thermoplastic processes applied to making TPE parts are:
* Injection molding
* Extrusion
* Blow molding