FAQ: Smooth Touch TPE 

Have you visited Fakuma 2021 in Friedrichshafen? KRAIBURG TPE celebrated its latest product launch at the trade show all about plastics and the product was met with great interest. A lot of interest was also shown in the web seminar. Missed it? No problem, you can watch the recording here

Below you can find an overview of some of the questions asked about Smooth Touch TPE:

Is Smooth Touch TPE suitable for the extrusion processes?

Yes, it is. It was tested on two different hardness levels, 30 ShA and 50 ShA. Internally, we extruded a film with a thickness of about 100 µm and a width of 30 cm. We were able to extrude all films without any problems. Just contact us a sample or visual material!

Is the material dishwasher safe?

According to our experience: Yes! We have tested similar TPE compounds internally in the past, and we also receive positive feedback from our customers about dishwasher use. The end-use tests were conducted by our customers using parts. By the way, another advantage we have observed with this material is the ease of cleaning due to the low friction surface. 

My recommendation: carry out the dishwasher tests on the finished parts. Because the result can depend on several factors, such as the geometry of the parts, the number of cycles required and also the TPE contact area.

Would it be possible to achieve better values for transparency if a higher degree of hardness were used? 

No, in this new Smooth Touch series, translucency is not affected by hardness and thus the entire hardness range between 30 ShA and 80 ShA remains unchanged.

Have you performed any odour or emission tests?

We have not performed odour and emission testing for this series. In our experience, no odour or emission problems are expected with this material. In addition, it would be important that the tests are performed on the finished components or prototypes.