What to note about TPE/TPR material for toy figurines?

Plastic Source always puts quality stability first!
The application of TPE accounts for a small proportion of the entire product, but it often plays a crucial role in the product's functionality and added value. If the quality of thermoplastic elastomers cannot maintain a certain stability, it will be a very troublesome thing for manufacturers to continue production. Plastic Source has a good understanding of this principle, so the stability of TPE quality has always been considered the most important concept for sustainable enterprise development. In order to meet customers' stricter requirements for TPE quality, Plastic Source is committed to improving production capacity and management level, so that TPE quality can be more effectively controlled and guaranteed during the production process.
In recent years, it has been widely used in the toy field, from toy tires to toy dolls or doll accessories, various elastic balls, glowing animal dolls, soft animals, ghost balls, many toys such as simulated fruits, using TPR/TPE materials. TPE/TPR materials can not only replace various thermoset rubbers, silicone, PVC, but also bring more inspiration to toy planners due to their common functions. Then plan more chic and diverse toys to increase the added value of the product.
1. Clarify the hardness of TPE/TPR materials

For hardness identification, generally users will provide an OK template. TPE/TPR material manufacturers can test the hardness of the template to confirm the appropriate hardness of the TPE/TPR material product model. If the user does not have a physical sample, but only provides product pictures and a hardness number, it is best to acknowledge whether the hardness refers to the hardness P of PVC or Shore hardness A. For the same value, the actual hardness represented by P and A is different.

2. Whether spray painting is required
It should be recognized whether the toy doll products processed by the user require screen printing. If spray painting screen printing is required, it is recommended to choose a brand of TPE/TPR material products that is easy to inject (whether good or not depends on the characteristics of the coating; most coatings on the market currently use SBS as the binder resin, which is related to the choice of TPE/TPR materials).
3. Acknowledge the export market environmental testing requirements
toy figurine TPE-TPR material industry generally requires EN71-3, some require compliance with the latest REACH (SVHC), some require testing for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), nonylphenol (NP), bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates (16P, 6P), etc. It should be recognized that environmental testing requirements are the basis for selecting materials.
4. Color matching requirements
If the user requires bright color matching, TPE/TPR materials with SBS substrate can be selected, with a smaller filler system ratio.
5. Processing issues
Other aspects, such as shrinkage, lack of glue, etc. during injection molding, also adjust fluidity and shrinkage from the perspective of raw materials. Especially if the user's previous mold was used for processing PVC and the mold is now directly used for processing TPE/TPR materials without modification, the choice of TPE/TPR materials should be more cautious.