TPE Adhesion with ABS Plastic: An Overview of Co-adhesion with Plastics and Other Materials


TPE Bonding with ABS Plastic

(1) Co-adhesion of TPE and TPR with Plastics
This is the most common form of co-adhesion. The bonding of TPE and TPR with plastics is widely recognized in the industry under the more familiar terms of overmolding, secondary injection, co-molding, or multi-color injection molding. The co-adhesion effect between TPE, TPR, and plastics is determined by the differences in polarity between the two materials and the surface tension of the plastic. Currently, the industry offers mature TPE and TPR products that can achieve good inter-bonding (overmolding) with a variety of plastics such as ABS, PA, PC, PP, PS, PCTG, and PBT, among others.

(2) Co-adhesion of TPR, TPE with Metals and Other Materials
The notion of TPR bonding with metals is not quite accurate in the strictest sense. In the majority of cases, TPE and TPR do not truly bond with metals through adhesive action but rather rely on special metal part structures or structural treatments of the metal pieces. They achieve a composite overmolding through embedding injection or snap-fit encapsulation, relying on physical and mechanical fixation rather than literal co-adhesion. However, it is reported that in some instances, TPE materials that have undergone polar functional group modification can bond with certain metals that possess higher surface chemical activity under elevated temperatures. This bond exhibits a certain degree of durability and is not solely reliant on mechanical interlocking, demonstrating some level of co-adhesive behavior.