Learn How 2K Overmolded TPEs Exhibit Excellent Adhesion to Copolyester Even After Exposure to Common Disinfectants and IV Nutrients

Thermoplastic elastomers and polycarbonates combine to offer the optimimum rigid and soft material solution for medical device housings and interfaces. This study examines the adhesion of medical-grade TPEs to various medical-grade PC and PC alloys, using both 2K and insert molding.

Learn about new plastic overmolding applications, where properties and features beyond good adhesion and haptics are required. Download this whitepaper with case studies on food container seals, o-rings and gaskets, and drug resistant medical device components.

Thermoplastic Elastomers, or TPEs, are the premier choice of soft, elastomeric materials in a variety of industries, due to their cost effectiveness, processing efficiency, and design flexibility.  TPEs are used in every day consumer products like toothbrushes, but are also found in medical devices, electronics, automotive parts, building and construction applications, and many others.    New TPEs are developed on a daily basis; based on new polymer technologies, changing consumer preferences, or the latest government regulation.  Out of literally thousands of formulations, how do you choose the right one for your project?

Have you noticed stress cracking in polycarbonate parts that contact flexible PVC for prolonged periods?  

As it so happens, this doesn’t only happen to polycarbonate. Other commonly used medical rigid polymers, such as ABS, polystyrene, and acrylic, can exhibit the same phenomenon. All of the aforementioned materials are valued for their strength, clarity, and long history of safe use in medical applications; however, each can succumb to failure because of plasticizer migration from contact with flexible PVC.

Vinyl, also known as PVC, is everywhere in our lives – in the products we use every day, in things we wear, in furniture and materials in our homes. Valued for its versatility and price-performance benefits, vinyl has been trusted and continually improved with innovative chemistries for decades.

Are you considering a change from DEHP? Start with a proper scientific understanding of DEHP and its alternatives.  All plasticizers have trade-offs. Look beyond cost, and consider factors like toxicology, sterilization, efficiency, compatibility, migration and crazing, water blushing, and the impact to your process. 

An overview of issues and concerns in construction materials selection to help understand the perceptions and science of vinyl. We review PVC from the most common concerns — Indoor Air Quality, Disposal and Recycling, Use of Phthalate Plasticizers, and Product Safety and Combustion.

TPEs are the premier choice of soft, elastomeric materials for appliance designers and engineers. The market for TPEs continues to grow, due to their cost effectiveness and their versatility or design flexibility, enabling TPEs to be used in many major end-user markets; including consumer products, electronics, medical devices, automotive, HVAC, and other industrial applications.