TPU (Thermoplastic polyurethanes) is a material between rubber and plastic. The material is oil and water resistant and has excellent load-carrying and impact resistance. TPU is an environmentally friendly non-toxic polymer material. Tpu material has the advantages of high elasticity of rubber and processing performance of plastic. It does not require vulcanization and can be processed by ordinary thermoplastic molding machines. Simply put, thermoplastic elastomer tpu is thermoformed and can be produced using injection molding machines, extruders, blow molding machines. Scrap and leftovers are 100% recyclable, the raw material of choice to replace PVC, rubber and silicone and dominate the rubber and plastics industry.

Rubber: Rubber is an organic polymer with a molecular weight of hundreds of thousands. Vulcanization treatment is required to maintain high elasticity in the temperature range of -50 to 150 °C. Low elastic modulus, 3 orders of magnitude lower than ordinary materials, large deformation, elongation can reach 1000% (general materials are less than 1%), heat is released during the stretching process, and the elasticity increases with temperature, which is also lower than that of general materials on the contrary.

The difference between TPU and rubber:

1. Rubber is relatively soft, and the hardness range (0-100a) of tpu material is very wide between rubber and plastic;

2. The concept of elastomer is very wide, tpu is also called thermoplastic rubber (tpr), and rubber usually refers to thermosetting rubber;

3. The processing methods are different. Rubber is processed by mixing rubber, while TPU is usually processed by extrusion;

4. The properties are different. Rubber usually needs to add various additives and needs to be vulcanized for reinforcement, while the tpu performance of thermoplastic elastomers is very good;

5. The thermoplastic elastomer tpu has a linear structure and is physically cross-linked by hydrogen bonding. Hydrogen bonds break at high temperatures and are plastic. Rubber is chemically cross-linked and not thermoplastic.

6. TPU plastic material has excellent wear resistance, which is more than five times that of natural rubber, and is one of the preferred materials for wear-resistant products.