Comparison of Application of Soft Rubber Materials – Differences between Rubber, Silicone, TPE, TPU, and Soft PVC
Soft rubber products are widely used in many fields of life, such as protective cases for electronic products, tableware packaging, protective gloves, sealing rings for water cups, and baby products. People may have some misunderstandings about these types of products, thinking that they are made of rubber or plastic materials. In fact, these are all soft rubber products, and there are differences between different types of soft rubber materials. Designers will match suitable soft rubber materials based on the application environment and properties of the product.
Soft rubber material is a general term for soft materials. Currently, the main soft rubber materials include rubber, silicone, TPE, TPU, soft PVC, and so on.
Let’s take a detailed look at the specific characteristics of these soft rubber materials.
Rubber:
Rubber is divided into natural rubber and synthetic rubber. Natural rubber is processed by extracting gum from plants such as rubber trees and rubber plants; Synthetic materials such as natural rubber, butadiene rubber, styrene butadiene rubber, and propylene rubber are obtained through polymerization reactions of various monomers. There are many types of rubber, including rubber and silicone rubber; Silicone rubber is one of the specific varieties of rubber, abbreviated as silicone. Rubber has great elasticity and can undergo significant deformation under very small external forces. After removing external forces, it can be restored to its original state and can be artificially synthesized at a low price. It also has good physical and mechanical properties and chemical stability, as well as good resistance to oil, water, solvents, and high-pressure oil. It has good compressibility and excellent wear resistance. However, rubber is prone to aging, has poor radiation resistance, and poor low-temperature performance. Rubber is widely used in the manufacturing of tires, hoses, tapes, cables, and various other rubber products.
Silicone:
The main component of silicone is silica, which is a thermosetting elastomer with the advantages of safety and non toxicity. It is insoluble in water and any solvent, non-toxic and odorless, with stable chemical properties, high adsorption performance, good thermal stability, stable chemical properties, and high mechanical strength. The disadvantage is that the mechanical properties such as tensile strength and tear strength are poor, and the resistance to strong alkali and hydrofluoric acid is poor. It was first widely used in adult products and food products. Nowadays, it is widely used in fields such as architecture, electronics and electrical, textiles, machinery, automobiles, medicine and medical care, chemicals, metals and paints, and infant and child products.
TPE:
TPE, also known as Thermoplastic Elastomer, is a thermoplastic elastomer material. Thermoplasticity means that it can be recycled and processed through injection molding. TPE products have excellent coloring properties, are environmentally friendly and non-toxic, have a wide range of hardness, a soft touch, weather resistance, fatigue resistance, temperature resistance, and superior processing performance. They do not require vulcanization, have high processing efficiency, and can be recycled, which is both environmentally friendly and cost-effective.
They can be injection molded and bonded with matrix materials such as PP, PE, PC, PS, ABS, or formed separately. Excellent transparency, glossiness, and comfortable feel, widely used in adult products. TPE has good UV resistance, weather resistance, and high temperature resistance, and is used outdoors for a long time. However, its heat resistance is not as good as rubber, and its physical properties decrease significantly with increasing temperature, thus limiting its applicability. Compared to rubber, compression deformation, resilience, and durability are relatively poor, and the price is often higher than similar rubber.
TPU:
TPU (Thermoplastic polyurethanes), also known as thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer rubber, is a polymer material formed by the reaction and polymerization of diisocyanate molecules such as diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) or toluene diisocyanate (TDI) with large molecular polyols and low molecular polyols (chain extenders). TPU has a wide range of hardness, high mechanical strength, outstanding resistance, good processing performance, good wear resistance, good toughness, strong tear resistance, oil resistance, water resistance, and mold resistance.
Disadvantages: poor weather resistance, poor compression resistance, poor hot water resistance, and poor formability. TPU processing techniques generally include injection molding, blow molding, compression, extrusion molding, etc. Among them, injection molding is the most common. Commonly used in construction, electronics, electronics, textiles, automobiles, machinery, leather and paper, medicine and medical treatment, etc.
TPE:
TPE, also known as Thermoplastic Elastomer, is a thermoplastic elastomer material. Thermoplasticity means that it can be recycled and processed through injection molding. TPE products have excellent coloring properties, are environmentally friendly and non-toxic, have a wide range of hardness, a soft touch, weather resistance, fatigue resistance, temperature resistance, and superior processing performance. They do not require vulcanization, have high processing efficiency, and can be recycled, which is both environmentally friendly and cost-effective.
They can be injection molded and bonded with matrix materials such as PP, PE, PC, PS, ABS, or formed separately. Excellent transparency, glossiness, and comfortable feel, widely used in adult products. TPE has good UV resistance, weather resistance, and high temperature resistance, and is used outdoors for a long time. However, its heat resistance is not as good as rubber, and its physical properties decrease significantly with increasing temperature, thus limiting its applicability. Compared to rubber, compression deformation, resilience, and durability are relatively poor, and the price is often higher than similar rubber.
TPU:
TPU (Thermoplastic polyurethanes), also known as thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer rubber, is a polymer material formed by the reaction and polymerization of diisocyanate molecules such as diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) or toluene diisocyanate (TDI) with large molecular polyols and low molecular polyols (chain extenders). TPU has a wide range of hardness, high mechanical strength, outstanding resistance, good processing performance, good wear resistance, good toughness, strong tear resistance, oil resistance, water resistance, and mold resistance.
Disadvantages: poor weather resistance, poor compression resistance, poor hot water resistance, and poor formability. TPU processing techniques generally include injection molding, blow molding, compression, extrusion molding, etc. Among them, injection molding is the most common. Commonly used in construction, electronics, electronics, textiles, automobiles, machinery, leather and paper, medicine and medical treatment, etc.