Soft TPE grades boast excellent surface properties for automotive interior parts

New FG/SF grades joining Kraiburg TPE’s Thermolast K series represent the latest innovation on offer for the automotive industry. The series comprises several compounds in the Shore A hardness range between 50 and 80 with excellent surface properties for automotive interior parts – properties that include reliable adhesion to polypropylene and good abrasion resistance. The materials can be processed at relatively low pressures. Along with the standard black and natural colors, customer-specific colors are also available.

The new FG/SF compounds also comply with all common OEM standards for components used in automotive passenger compartments in relation to VOC emissions and associated odors as well as UV-resistance. The target applications range from floor mats and anti-slip mats with complex geometry that require enhanced surface quality to decorated surfaces and functional parts with a pleasantly soft touch, such as thumb wheels and switches.

Further, new compounds in the FC/AD/PA Thermolast K series are aimed at manufacturers in the consumer and food industries. These materials have been developed specifically for food contact and feature excellent adhesion to polyamides. The natural-colored compounds are available in hardness degrees ranging from 40 to 80 Shore A. They are not only characterized by easy processing and colorability, but also by high tensile strength and elongation at break.

This makes the TPE family particularly suitable for a wide range of applications with direct food and mouth contact such as container and packaging seals, and parts of kitchen utensils and tableware. Other applications include sports items and cosmetics, as well as seals for hearing aids.

Kraiburg will be present at the upcoming Fakuma show in Friedrichshafen, Germany, in October, where it will showcase applications ranging from motor vehicle window profiles, to consumer goods, to e-mobility applications, to electrosurgical instruments and a new mascara container.