TPE Alphabet Soup: TPO, TPV, SBC, TPU, COPE, COPA

By Elizabeth Ponte | April 28, 2017

Perhaps you know TPEs. But did you know that there are actually six distinct TPE chemical families? The right chemistry depends on the application, and the design goals.

What’s more, with the right knowledge, teams can design to the advantages of a Styrenic Block Copolymer Compound (SBC or TPE-S) or a Polyolefinic Rubber Blend (TPO or TPE-O) or a Thermoplastic Vulcanizate (TPV or TPV-V).

Some families are highly elastic.  Some take color extremely well. Some are better suited for outdoor applications. Some retain their properties at extreme temperatures.  Each project is unique, and there are key performance requirements that define what TPE family is ideal for the application.

Then within each TPE family, there are almost limitless possibilities – for hardness, temperature tolerances, surface haptics, chemical resistance and other attributes.

Ultimately, there may be several suitable TPE grades for any one application. Design engineers and compounders work together to evaluate or test subtle trade-offs, and select the optimal material.

Want to increase your fluency in TPE chemistries? Browse our Thermoplastic Elastomer Family tutorial.

If you’d like to go deeper, we can also tailor a lunch-and-learn for your organization. Send me an email.