HOW TO CHOOSE?
Our experience in the PVC market has shown us that it is sometimes difficult to know how to choose the right PVC compound for your company, so we recommend starting by understanding both the requirements of the finished product you are going to produce and the requirements of the end user.
There are so many properties in a PVC compound, which in this section we will try to explain some of them. It is important to identify those characteristics of the physical product but also those required for correct processing.
These simple 5 steps will help you how to choose pvc compounds:
1
One of our sales technicians gets in touch with you to find out in a general way what material you produce and your specific requirements.
2
If you already use PVC compound, we offer you a countertype or else we develop it. We give you a sample to test and face-to-face technical advice.
3
If your company is just beginning to manufacture PVC products, we are happy to support you throughout the process.
4
Our sample is approved, if not, we can do some adjustments. We send our quote.
5
A final upscale test is recommended. Let’s start working together!.
PVC Characteristics
It is quite common to find that the end user doesn't know about the product specifications that a certain product must meet to be fully functional. Maybe your customer uses bottles and what asks from you is simply to get a transparent good-looking product. What they don’t know is that it might need a certain impact resistance or be free of gels, something that the product and quality manager are usually responsible for.
To know how to choose the proper PVC compoundyou need to bear in mind the following important traits:
Some of these are functional and only linked to the end product but some have direct effect on its processing:
Process type
There are three main types of the way PVC can be processed: extrusion, calendering and injection. From these some adaptations exist that allow PVC to be transformed into different geometries. Depending on the type of process there is a type of PVC compound as it will affect how many scrap is produced or how many process interruptions exist.
Hardness
This information is fundamental to know the degree of flexibility your product needs to meet final specifications and to process it without any problem. By changing hardness one can produce a flexible hose, semi rigid injected automotive parts or rigid PVC pipe. Even though we have some developed products, this trait can be adapted to your needs.
Weather & UV resistance:
Is it good to know beforehand how long is the product life cycle guaranteed to the end-user. This is what makes PVC retain their physical and mechanical properties.
Density:
This characteristic is relevant as it has direct impact on the product appearance, cost and processing.
Impact Resistance:
This property is related to rigid PVC. There grades for both opaque and transparent applications. Usually it is employed in bottles and rigid profiles.
Flow Index:
Very important characteristic to take into account for productivity and to avoid processing shortcomings such as superficial defects or thermal degradation.
Physical aspect:
PVC can be slightly yellow transparent, opaque, crystal clear, black, and white or any color you want. It is important to note that it can be more expensive to buy a crystal clear grade and then add pigment, than getting an already pigmented compound.
Other:
We are not covering every additional property you can add to PVC because there are so many, but we’d like to share some more. Some of these are: flame retardant, chemical attack resistance, low smoke emission, craze whitening, mold release, anti-block, and stickiness, among others.