Silicone:
Silica gel is a kind of thermosetting elastomer. It has the advantages of safety and non-toxicity. It is insoluble in water and any solvent. It is non-toxic and tasteless. It has stable chemical properties. It does not react with any substances except strong alkali and hydrofluoric acid. It has high adsorption performance and thermal stability. It has good stability and stable chemical properties. It was first widely used in adult products and food products.
The processing technology of silicone products is relatively complex and requires a series of functions such as rubber mixing, molding, and vulcanization to produce products. Silicone products are thermosetting rubber. They will not melt when reheated after vulcanization and cannot be directly recycled and processed again. The cost of silicone products is usually higher than that of TPE. Adult products have privacy and exclusive properties. It is precisely because of this that adult products are largely made of silicone, although the cost is relatively high. Because no one wants their baby to be made of recycled materials used by others, using silicone can eliminate this possibility from the processing technology.
In terms of hardness, the general hardness of silicone is between 0A and 70A, while the general hardness of TPE is between 0A and 100A, and the softest can reach 000 degrees or 00000 degrees. Therefore, TPE is softer and silicone has stronger shaping ability.
Silicone has advantages over TPE in terms of high temperature resistance. The temperature resistance of silicone is generally between 200 and 300 degrees, while TPE theoretically can withstand temperatures between 130 and 150 degrees Celsius. If the temperature is higher, it will age and crack.
The price of silica gel is generally more than 30,000 yuan per ton, while the general price of TPE is between 13,000 and 30,000 yuan. TPE has the advantage in terms of price, except for special TPE materials, such as halogen-free flame retardant, food grade and other properties.
TPE：
The full name of TPE is Thermoplastic Elastomer, which is a thermoplastic elastomer material. Thermoplasticity means it can be recycled and reused and can be injection molded. TPE products have excellent colorability, are environmentally friendly and non-toxic. It can be double injection molded, coated and bonded with base materials such as PP, PE, PC, PS, ABS, etc., or can be molded separately.
The heat resistance of TPE is not as good as that of rubber. As the temperature rises, its physical properties decrease significantly, so its scope of application is limited. At the same time, the compression deformation, elastic recovery, and durability are poor compared to rubber, and the price is often higher than similar rubber.
It has a wide range of hardness, excellent transparency, gloss, and comfortable feel, and is widely used in adult products. It has good UV resistance, weather resistance and high temperature resistance, and can be used outdoors for a long time.
TPU：
TPU (Thermoplastic polyurethanes) is a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer rubber. Its hardness range is usually between 60A and 70D in Shore S hardness (currently there are soft TPUs with a hardness of about 45A in foreign countries, but the price is quite expensive), while the TPE hardness range is It can vary in the range of Shore A Scale 0~100. Therefore, it can be said that the hardness range of TPE is medium to low hardness, while the hardness of TPU is medium to high hardness.
TPU's elasticity and elastic recovery properties (flex resistance and creep resistance) are better than TPE. The main reason is that the material structure of TPU is a polymer homogeneous structure and belongs to the polymer resin class. TPE is a multi-component blend. An alloy material with an aggregated multi-phase structure. High-hardness TPE is prone to product deformation during processing, while TPU shows excellent elasticity in all hardness ranges, and the product is not easily deformed.
Some overmolded products, such as handles and wheels, may be TPE or TPU. Products made of TPU have a rough feel and strong friction resistance; while products made of TPE have a delicate and soft feel and weak friction performance.
PVC Soft Glue：
PVC is polyvinyl chloride, which was once the most widely produced general plastic in the world and is widely used. It should be noted that on October 27, 2017, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer published a preliminary reference list of carcinogens. Polyvinyl chloride is in the list of Class 3 carcinogens.
PVC itself is a hard material. Adding plasticizer can make the finished plastic soft, easy to bend, fold, and elastic. The hardness of soft rubber products is usually expressed as Shore hardness A internationally. For PVC, it is often expressed in China according to the percentage P% of the added plasticizer and PVC raw materials (P). For example: 50kg PVC material, 40kg plasticizer is 80P (40/50=80%).
From the appearance, PVC products are rougher than silicone products, while silicone products have a smooth surface and color.
Judging by the feel, silicone products are soft and have good toughness and elasticity, while PVC soft rubber is relatively hard. The softness and hardness of both can be adjusted, but PVC has no toughness.
PVC materials include ordinary materials and environmentally friendly materials, also called ATBC-PVC, while silicone can pass ROHS certification and is environmentally friendly.
Silicone products are generally made to be relatively transparent, have a relatively small burning smell, and are in powder form, while PVC products will turn black after being burned and have an unpleasant smell when burned.
Silicone products are more resistant to heat and cold than PVC products. Silicone products can be heated in a microwave oven, but PVC cannot.
Rubber:
There are many types of rubber, such as natural rubber, butadiene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, propylene rubber, and of course silicone rubber; silicone rubber is one of the specific varieties of rubber and is the abbreviation of silicone rubber.
There are two materials: silicone and rubber. When we use the same application environment, both silicone and rubber materials can be used. However, as the physical environment and requirements change, there will be a significant gap in the performance of the two materials. However, It takes time to show up.
For example, the condenser tubes most commonly used in laboratories include rubber and silicone, but silicone has better properties and has significant aging resistance. Structurally, the rubber main chain is mainly carbon-based, which is derived from organic matter, while the silica gel main chain is mainly based on Si-O bonds. This is the main difference between them.
Silicone has rich coloring properties and can be made into various colors. Most rubber products are black, and occasionally other colors can be seen. For example, bicycle tires occasionally come in other colors, while car tires are always black. The reason is that carbon black raw materials are added during rubber mixing, and the process of high-temperature condensation of carbon elements and hydrocarbons can make the rubber very strong, and its wear resistance and aging resistance are greatly improved.
