MARFRAN TPE-S thermoplastic elastomer compounds are a real alternative to silicone for medical and healthcare applications.
Thermoset silicone has always been considered one of the materials of choice for the fabrication of medical devices and components for healthcare and personal care due to its undeniable qualities stemming from both its optical and haptic appearance as well as its high temperature resistance and elastic characteristics that result from being a vulcanised rubber.
But its precisely being a vulcanised rubber lies at the root of its production complexity as well as the high cost of finished components made of medical silicone in addition to the environmental impact generated by a raw material that is no longer recyclable.
What's more, recent raw material shortages and the concentration of production capacity in the hands of a few players make alternatives based on thermoplastic elastomers based on hydrogenated styrenic block copolymers increasingly attractive.
In fact, medical TPEs based on hydrogenated styrenic block copolymers, such as the MARFRAN.MED compounds offer numerous advantages of both process and economic, lower environmental impact, as well as an aesthetic and haptic appearance essentially identical to that of silicone.
While silicone remains unsurpassed in terms of high temperature resistance, MARFRAN.MED TPE-Ss perform better on numerous fronts such as:
- Lighter: density 0,9 g/cm³ vs. 1,20 g/cm³ (it means cost saving)
- Cheaper if compared with medical grade platinic silicone
- Environmental friendly: 100% recyclable vs. full waste disposal
- Easier and faster to be processed: 30% shorter thermoplastic process cycle vs. thermoset cycle
- Easier to be overmoulded onto plastic substrates.
Furthermore MARFRAN.MED TPE-S medical grade compounds and MARFRAN HEALTHCARE TPE-S compounds are:
- Phthalates-free
- Odour-free
- Plasticiser-free (selected grades only)
- Allergen-free
- Transparent
- Soft (hardness down to 10 Shore A)
- Easy to process
- 100% customisable
- Produced in ISO Class 7 cleanroom upon ISO 13485 certified management system