Question 1

What is the difference between TPU and TPE or TPV?

Accepted Answer

TPU is a block copolymer of hard urethane segments and soft polyol segments, which is why it pairs rubber-like elasticity with thermoplastic processing. "TPE" is an umbrella term that covers TPU, TPS (SEBS), TPV (cross-linked EPDM in PP), TPO and copolyesters, so "TPE or TPU" is not a real choice — the question is which TPE. Practically: TPU holds the highest tensile and tear strength, abrasion resistance and oil resistance of the family; TPS softens in oil; TPV is cheaper at 60A but limited in clarity and bondability. If a part needs abrasion resistance, clarity or solvent bonding, TPU is normally the right branch.

Question 2

Polyester, polyether or polycarbonate polyol — how do I choose?

Accepted Answer

The soft segment decides what kills the part. Polyester gives the best tensile, tear and oil resistance, but ester bonds hydrolyse, so it is the wrong choice for hot water, steam or long humid storage. Polyether resists hydrolysis but is attacked by oxidation and UV. Polycarbonate is the most balanced: no ester bonds to hydrolyse and better oxidative stability than polyether, which is why it dominates long-contact medical parts. Aliphatic grades overlay UV and colour stability on any of the three.

Question 3

What hardness range do you supply, and what actually changes with hardness?

Accepted Answer

Published grades run from 60A to 85D. Hardness is set by the hard-segment fraction, and it moves the property set as a whole: as hardness rises, modulus, tear strength and compression-set resistance rise, while elongation, flex fatigue and low-temperature flexibility fall. Select on the property the part is judged by, not on hardness alone — two grades of the same Shore A can differ several-fold in hydrolysis resistance or clarity, because that is decided by the polyol, not the durometer.

Question 4

How do I choose a grade for a new part?

Accepted Answer

Start from four facts, not from a datasheet: what the part touches and for how long, how it is processed (injection, extrusion, film casting), the service temperature, and any standard the finished part must meet. Those four narrow the polyol chemistry and the hardness band; only then is the grade list short enough to compare. Bring those four to us and the answer is a specific grade rather than a range.

Question 5

Halogen-free or halogenated flame-retardant TPU — which one?

Accepted Answer

Start from the cable standard, not from preference. The FR series is halogen-free and reaches UL94 V-0 at 87–88 Shore A, on a 1.21 g/cm³ compound. HFR85 is halogenated and reaches V-0 with 656% elongation, for the cases where only a halogenated system passes. The cost is measurable: 1.30 g/cm³ instead of 1.21 is about 7% more compound in every kilometre of jacket. Specify the halogenated grade when the standard demands it, and not as a default hedge.

Question 6

Does a foamed part's hardness follow the grade's Shore A?

Accepted Answer

No. Once a part is foamed, the feel is set by density and cell structure, not by the durometer of the pellet: a 93 Shore A grade can be moulded into a soft midsole and a 60 Shore A grade into a firm one, depending on expansion ratio. That is why a foam grade is not selected on hardness alone. Specify what the finished part must do — density, resilience, compression set, tear — and treat the pellet hardness as a processing input that tells you how much expansion the melt will carry.

Question 7

Will a TPU paint protection film yellow outdoors?

Accepted Answer

An aromatic TPU will, and it is not a formulation defect — the aromatic hard segment absorbs UV and the degradation shows as yellowing. Aliphatic TPU replaces that segment, which is why every PPF grade we publish is aliphatic polycarbonate on a PCL soft segment. The published evidence is 1000 hours of QUV-A at 340 nm and 0.75 W/m²: ΔE* 1.10 for NL2193 and 1.23 for NL2188, both below the 1.5 at which the eye begins to see a difference. One caution: 1000 hours is a test, not a service life — if your warranty is five years, ask for the ageing protocol behind it.

Question 8

What does a self-healing PPF top layer actually mean?

Accepted Answer

Self-healing means the surface reflows at a moderate temperature — warm water, a sun-heated panel — and closes light scratches instead of holding them. It comes from a softer top layer in a multi-layer co-extrusion, so the property belongs to the film construction, not to one grade. NL2165D is positioned for that top layer, with better stain and weather resistance than a mono-layer film. Its physical data is not published yet, so treat the positioning as a starting point and request the data sheet before fixing a construction.

Question 9

Does TPU have to be dried before processing?

Accepted Answer

Yes — always. TPU is hygroscopic, and moisture in the melt hydrolyses urethane bonds. The result is not always visible: sometimes bubbles and silver streaks, more often a part that passes inspection on day one and cracks at week six. Dry in a desiccant dryer — typically 80–110 °C for 2–4 hours depending on hardness and the dryer's dew point, with the binding figure taken from the grade's TDS. An oven without desiccant only bakes humid air into the pellets.

Question 10

Can TPU regrind be reused?

Accepted Answer

Generally yes, at a controlled ratio, with two caveats. Every heat history shortens the chain, so properties drift — tensile and tear strength fall before anything visible changes. And regrind must be dried and kept free of other polymers, because a few percent of a non-TPU contaminant shows up as gels or delamination. Medical and optical parts normally exclude regrind entirely for traceability; for industrial parts, confirm the ratio rather than assuming full reuse is safe.

Question 11

Are the same grades used for injection and extrusion?

Accepted Answer

Not always. Extrusion needs higher melt strength and a tighter viscosity window to hold gauge on a film or a jacket; injection needs flow length and fast set. Some grades serve both, others are tuned for one. Tell us the process before a grade is selected — a grade that moulds perfectly can draw down unevenly in extrusion, and that failure appears as thickness variation rather than as a mechanical break, so it is easy to blame on the machine.

Question 12

Why does a TPU part fail months after it passed testing?

Accepted Answer

Because a short-term test does not reproduce the two mechanisms that actually end TPU parts: hydrolysis and residual stress. Hydrolysis needs water plus heat plus time and attacks ester bonds — a polyester grade stored warm and humid can lose most of its elongation in months while its initial tensile looked excellent. Residual stress from an over-packed mould or an over-fast cycle adds stress cracking on top. Accelerated ageing at the real service temperature and humidity predicts this; a room-temperature tensile test does not.

Question 13

Why do cable jackets crack two or three years after installation?

Accepted Answer

Two mechanisms, and both live in the compound rather than in the extruder. Hydrolysis attacks ester bonds, so a polyester jacket on a cable that runs warm and damp loses elongation long before it looks damaged; oxidation and UV attack the surface of whatever backbone is used. Our cable grades are built on aromatic polyether and polycarbonate backbones for that reason — there are no ester bonds to hydrolyse — and the marine grade adds salt-spray and UV resistance for dockside exposure. If a failure is already in progress, measure retained elongation against the original value: a jacket that has lost most of its elongation is at end of life even where it has not yet cracked.

Question 14

What is supercritical foaming, and why does it need a different TPU?

Accepted Answer

Supercritical foaming uses CO₂ or N₂ above its critical point as the blowing agent instead of a chemical one. The gas dissolves into the melt under pressure and the cells form when the pressure drops, so the melt has to hold cell walls through expansion rather than rely on a decomposition reaction. That shifts what the grade must do: melt strength and crystallisation speed matter more than tensile strength, and the processing window narrows. Our foaming range — 60 to 97 Shore A, ester and ether backbones — is tuned for that, with an HP series tuned for yield at a given density.

Question 15

How does a TPU interlayer bond to glass?

Accepted Answer

Under heat and pressure, in an autoclave or a vacuum laminator: the TPU softens, wets the glass and bonds without an adhesive layer, and the same bond forms to PET, PC and printed film. That is what makes inserts possible — a functional layer, a printed interlayer or a decorative film can sit inside the laminate. It is not a drop-in replacement for PVB on an existing line, because the lamination cycle and the edge sealing differ. On the claim side we publish no ballistic rating: there is no GA 165, EN 1063 or UL 752 test behind this grade, so it should not be specified as bullet-resistant.

Question 16

Why does odour matter in a glass interlayer?

Accepted Answer

Because the interlayer is sealed between two panes for the life of the panel — and in a vehicle, that means the cabin. Volatiles from residual monomer, antioxidant or plasticiser have nowhere to go; they fog the glass, and they are what a passenger smells in a hot car. TPU carries no plasticiser, which is its structural advantage over plasticised PVB, and the interlayer we publish is specified for low VOC and low odour. The figure worth asking for is the one measured to your own protocol: VDA 270 for odour and VDA 278 for VOC where the panel is automotive.

Question 17

What is a China master file, and does it approve my device?

Accepted Answer

A master file (MAF) is a reference dossier filed with NMPA holding material-level data — composition, manufacturing, characterisation, biocompatibility — for a material used in a device. It lets a device maker cite our file instead of rebuilding the material chapter of their own submission. It does not approve any device, it does not transfer to you, and it does not replace the device-level ISO 10993 work your product still needs. It shortens the material section of a registration, and that is all it does.

Question 18

Which grades carry USP Class VI and ISO 10993 data?

Accepted Answer

The medical range — sixteen published grades, from soft catheter durometer up to rigid structural hardness — is the part of the catalogue covered by medical documentation. The industrial lines (wire and cable, foaming, paint protection film, interlayer) are not covered, even where a grade is chemically similar. Documentation is released per grade and per application: tell us the contact category and duration and we confirm which reports apply, rather than issuing a blanket "biocompatible" statement that would not survive a reviewer's question.

Question 19

Do you have long-term implant data?

Accepted Answer

We publish a 52-week intramuscular implantation study on the 95A implant grade: irritation index 0.0 at 52 weeks, no different from the negative control, run at a CNAS-accredited laboratory (report WT252114-1), with subchronic systemic toxicity alongside it. That is material-level evidence for a long-contact application. It is not a device approval, and it does not cover your geometry, your sterilisation or your manufacturing process — those still need their own assessment.

Question 20

Can I use an industrial grade in a medical device?

Accepted Answer

Chemically, sometimes the polymer is close; in a submission, the answer is normally no. What separates a medical grade is not only the polymer but change control, lot traceability, documented extractables and a supply agreement that keeps the formulation fixed. An industrial grade can change an additive package without notice, which silently invalidates the biocompatibility data a registration rests on. If a device is the destination, start from the medical range and accept the narrower choice.

Question 21

Are you ISO 13485 certified?

Accepted Answer

ISO 13485 is not in our current certificate set. What we hold and publish is ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001, plus material-level medical documentation: USP Class VI, ISO 10993 reports and a China master file. ISO 9001 is not ISO 13485 — it does not by itself constitute a medical-device quality management system. If your supplier audit requires 13485 on the material supplier, say so at the start of the project; it changes whether we are the right supplier for that particular part.

Question 22

What information do you need to quote?

Accepted Answer

Five things: the application and what the part touches, the processing method, the hardness or the property that matters most, the annual volume, and any standard the finished part must meet. With those, a quotation names a specific grade. Without them, any price is a guess — and usually a guess built on the wrong grade, which makes it useless for comparison.

Question 23

What documents come with a grade?

Accepted Answer

Every published grade has a technical data sheet; each shipment carries a certificate of analysis tied to its lot; a safety data sheet is available on request. Regulatory packs — ISO 10993 reports, USP Class VI evidence, master-file reference — are released per application once the intended use is clear, because a full biocompatibility dossier for a part that never contacts the body is both unnecessary and misleading.

Question 24

Do you supply film or finished parts?

Accepted Answer

We supply the material, not the converted article: pellets and compounds. Paint protection film, laminated-glass interlayer and cable jacketing shown on this site are applications of our grades, made by converters — we do not cast film or laminate glass. That distinction matters at the design stage: if you need a finished film, you need a converter, and we will talk to yours directly on grade selection rather than guessing what their line can run.

Question 25

Can you supply a modified grade — colour, flame retardant, radiopaque?

Accepted Answer

Yes, within the additive packages we already run: flame-retardant and radiopaque (barium sulphate) compounds, antistatic masterbatch, and colour matching. Each is quoted case by case because the additive changes the property balance — a 40% radiopaque load moves density and mechanics, so the grade has to be re-characterised rather than assumed. Minimum run size and lead time are confirmed with the quotation, not guessed in advance.

Question 26

How large is the plant?

Accepted Answer

18,000 m² in Fengxian, Shanghai, with 60,000 t/yr of capacity across a polymerization line, a compounding line and a pilot line, backed by in-house testing and laboratory equipment. The pilot line is the commercially important part: trial quantities run at kilogram scale rather than tonne scale, which shortens the loop between a formulation change and a result you can actually test.

Question 27

Which certifications do you hold?

Accepted Answer

Published: ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001; USP Class VI and ISO 10993 for the medical range; RoHS and REACH; and a China master file for the implant-grade polycarbonate grades. Not held or not published: ISO 13485, IATF 16949 and UL. If a project depends on one of those, raise it at the beginning rather than at the audit — a missing certificate is a scheduling problem, not a negotiating position.

Question 28

Can we audit the plant?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Customer audits are arranged through your contact, normally with a short questionnaire first so the visit targets what you actually need to see — line segregation, lot traceability, the testing laboratory, or change control. Bring the checklist you would use on your own site. An audit run against a real list is worth more to both sides than a walk-through with photographs.

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